


An Original Vampire's Guide to the Universe

by NicholasFlamelFan



Series: Universal Vampire [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Brother-Sister Relationships, Esther's A+ Parenting, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Klaus Mikaelson Has A Heart, Kol Mikaelson Lives, Mikael's A+ Parenting, POV Original Character, Protective Elijah Mikaelson, Protective Finn, Protective Jack Harkness, Protective Siblings, Tenth Doctor Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 14:46:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 227,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16789051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicholasFlamelFan/pseuds/NicholasFlamelFan
Summary: The Doctor has changed. Not only that but things have become much more difficult. Or rather... they will become difficult for Tyra. A lot of things have changed in her life and even more are going to change. Will her siblings accept the fact or what will happen once they see her again?





	1. Born Again

The new Doctor started dashing around the console, flicking switches left and right "6 PM… Tuesday…" I shook my head at him when he grinned at me "October… 5006… On the way to Barcelona." He straightened up and faced both Rose and me "Now then… How do I look like?" I was about to open my mouth but he immediately slapped a hand over it "No, no no, no no no no no no. No. Don't tell me. Let's see… two legs, two arms, two hands…" He laughed before frowning, twisting his one wrist around "Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle…" A second later the Doctor moved on, his hand flying to his head "HAIR… I'm not bald. Oh, oh. Big hair!"

"Very big hair," I snorted, glancing at Rose out of the corner of my eye. The blonde was staring at the Time Lord with wide eyes and growing anger. Oh dear… This was going to end badly.

"Sideburns," he cheered, fingers trailing down the sides of his head "I've got sideburns. Or really bad skin."

I hummed when he tilted his head at me "Sideburns," I pointed out, studying him closely. He seemed to be the complete opposite of the former Doctor. Actually, he was more like one of those pretty boys that Rose kept dragging along. And he was younger… Still taller than me – which is still annoyingly unfair but I doubt he would ever get close to my height, no matter how often he regenerated.

The Time Lord continued inspecting himself "Little bit thinner," he remarked, slapping his stomach "That's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it." He froze, shifting "I… have got… a mole," he breathed, sounding as though he just cured cancer "I can feel it…"

"Rose?" I questioned, looking at the shocked girl. Her breathing had turned harsher and she looked scared of the new Doctor.

Well, at least he was still as oblivious as the last one. That's for sure "Between my shoulder blades. There's a mole." The Time Lord rotated his shoulder "That's alright. Love the mole." Finally… Finally, he turned to Rose "Go on then, tell me. What do you two think?"

"Who are you?" Rose asked him quietly, petrified.

The Doctor frowned, looking confused as to why she didn't recognize him "I'm the Doctor." He glanced at me and I mouthed 'regeneration' to him. While he told me about his past and what he could do, Rose had no idea about all this. At least, I was pretty sure she had no idea.

"No… Where is he?" Rose shook her head "Where's the Doctor?" What have you done to him?"

The Time Lord blinked "You saw me. I – I changed." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder "Right in front of you. Tyra believes me, don't you, Ty?"

"It's him, Rose. He really did change," I pointed out quietly.

"How would you know?" she snapped "I saw him sort of explode and then you replaced him, like a… a teleport or a transmat or a body swap or something." The Doctor only stared at the blonde girl silently, at a loss for words. Rose took several steps toward him. As soon as she was within arm's reach, she shoved him back "You're not fooling me. I've seen all sorts of things. Nanogenes… Gelth… Slitheen…" The Time Lord raised his eyebrows "Oh, my God, are you a Slitheen?"

"I'm not a Slitheen," the Doctor replied calmly.

Rose's voice rose to a shout "Send him back. I'm warning you… Send the Doctor back right now."

I stepped forward, getting between the two "Rose. The Doctor is the only one who can pilot the Tardis, right? If you don't believe it's him then let him show you. How about that?" I glanced over my shoulder at the Time Lord "Or you tell her something… Like… Erm, how you two first met?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded excitedly "That's it. Very first word I ever said to you. Trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies… oh…" He looked away for a moment, reminiscing "Such a long time ago. I took your hand… I said one word… just one word, I said. Run." Then he looked at me "And you just randomly butted in and never left. And then we ran."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I scoffed. This Doctor certainly did seem to include me more than the last. He didn't seem to be as happy to let me hide in the background… I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing.

The Doctor smirked at me for a moment before turning back to Rose who had tears in her eyes by now "Doctor?" she whispered.

"Hello," he grinned. Rose sighed exasperatedly and stumbled backward, coming to rest against one of the beams behind her. The Doctor took off around the other side of the console "And we never stopped, did we? All across the universe. Running, running, running…" He flicked a few switches on the console "One time we had to hop. Do you remember? Hopping for our lives." The Doctor started hopping up and down energetically "Yeah? All that hopping? Remember hopping for your lives? Hop? With the…" he trailed off, catching Rose's lack of reaction "No?"

Rose swallowed heavily "Can you change back?"

"Do you want me to?" the Time Lord questioned quietly.

"Yeah," the blonde nodded.

The Doctor bit his lip, looking close to tears "Oh."

I put my hand on his arm "I don't. I'm sure that I would even enjoy travelling with you if you were wearing a stick of celery."

At those last words, I winked at him, causing a beaming grin to appear on his face. It fell quickly though as he turned to Rose again "Do you want to leave?"

"Do you want me to leave?" Rose questioned in shock.

The Doctor shook his head "No. But… your choice… if you want to go home…" When the blonde didn't reply, he nodded sadly "Cancel Barcelona. Change to… London… the Powell Estate… ah… let's say the 24th of December. Consider it a Christmas present." Rose slowly edged toward the console, staying as far away from the new Doctor as possible "There," he stepped back, his arms tucked under his armpits defensively. The Tardis shuddered.

"I'm going home?"

"Up to you," the Time Lord shrugged "Back to your mum… It's all waiting. Fish and chips, sausages and mash, beans on toast… No, Christmas. Turkey! Although… having met your mother… nut loaf would be more appropriate." Rose looked down quickly, trying to hide a smile "Was that a smile?"

"No," Rose scowled, trying to drop the grin that was forming on her lips.

"That was a smile," the Doctor pointed out knowingly.

The blonde shook her head "No, it wasn't."

"Oh, come on," the Doctor rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed by the other girl now "All I did was change, I didn't…" He gagged suddenly, bending over the console.

The Tardis shuddered again and I carefully made my way over to him "Are you alright?"

"What?" Rose blinked.

"I said I didn't…" The same thing happened again, more violently. The Doctor was retching, leaning against me for a moment "Uh oh."

The blonde edged around the console again "Er… Are you alright?" A piece of time vortex escaped the Doctor's mouth and Rose jumped back "What's that?"

"Oh… the change is going a bit wrong and all," he gagged, almost falling down if I hadn't steadied him.

"Doctor," I murmured into his ear "Could you try and land the Tardis before anything else happens? I think that would be the smartest thing to do now."

A lever on the console caught his eye and he surged forward "I haven't used this one in years." The Doctor pulled it, causing us to nearly fall from the jerk the Tardis gave.

"What are you doing?" Rose demanded.

"Putting on a bit of speed," the Doctor laughed crazily "That's it." He started turning more knobs while I held onto the console for dear life. I was still a bit weakened from dying earlier and since I didn't have any blood… Well, I certainly needed to feed and fairly soon "My beautiful ship. Come on, faster. That's a girl. Faster. Wanna break the time limit?"

"Stop it," the blonde demanded angrily, glaring at the new Doctor.

The Time Lord rolled his eyes "Ah, don't be so dull… let's have a bit of fun. Let's rip through the vortex."

"Is that really your plan of action?" I frowned "It seems a bit… What's the word?"

His voice calmed for a moment "The regeneration is going wrong. I can't stop myself…" he grimaced in pain "Ah, my head." The Doctor sprung up again, voice going back to the previous crazed tone "Faster. Let's open those engines."

A bell rang and Rose shivered in fear "What's that?"

"We're going to crash land," the Time Lord proclaimed in delight.

"And that's a good thing?" I questioned, tilting my head at him "You know that it won't help anyone if you were to kill us all?"

The Doctor laughed "Too late. Out of control." He ran past me, giggling and hopping around "Oh, I love it. Hot dawg."

"You're gonna kill us," Rose breathed.

"Hold on tight. Here we go," the Doctor grinned madly "Christmas Eve…"


	2. Christmas Invasion

I was thrown off my feet when the Tardis started bouncing off several buildings before coming to a halt with once last jerk. The Doctor was up immediately and out of the door before Rose or I could get up "Here we are then, London," the Time Lord exclaimed "Earth. The Solar System." I stepped over Rose who was still looking a little dazed and leaned against the doorway to see the Doctor with his arms around Mickey and Jackie "We did it. Jackie. Mickey. Blimey! No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there. I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important. What was it? No, hold on," he snapped when Mickey was about to open his mouth "Shush, shush, shush. Oh, I know. Merry Christmas." The Doctor collapsed forward and I barely caught him before his head hit the ground.

"What happened?" Rose breathed with wide eyes, looking down at the unconscious alien on my lap "Is he alright?"

Mickey shrugged helplessly "I don't know, he just keeled over. But who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"He just fainted," I pointed out with a small grin "That's the Doctor, Mickey."

"What do you mean, that's the Doctor?" Jackie frowned "Doctor who?"

I looked up at Mickey "Could you hold him for a moment? I can carry him up."

"You?" Rose's mother tilted her head "Maybe Mickey should carry him."

"I'm stronger than I look," I assured her, bending down to pick the Time Lord up. He wasn't as heavy as I thought he'd be. Actually, he was pretty slight. The only thing that was a bit awkward was the Doctor's height compared to my own.

When we got to the Tyler's flat Jackie waved me to a bedroom and told me to put the Doctor down there and went to search for a pair of pyjamas "Here," Jackie shoved the clothes at Mickey and ushered Rose and me out of the room.

A few minutes later, Rose was sitting on the couch, while I was pacing the length of the living room. The vampire inside of me was agitated and I needed to feed soon but I was worried about the Doctor, so I didn't really want to leave.

"Sorry," Jackie spoke up from behind me "I… It was Tyra, right?"

I sent her a small smile "Yes."

"Would you like a cup of tea?" the older Tyler woman offered.

"Mom…" Rose stood up, sliding herself between her mother and me with a glare "Stay away from her."

I held up my hands, while Jackie blinked at her daughter in surprise "Rose?"

"She's a monster, mom," the blonde girl snapped "A vampire."

"What are you talking about?" Jackie demanded "Vampires aren't real."

Rose snorted and stormed to the kitchen. I was frozen to the place in shocked surprise. What the hell was she doing? Once she was back in the living room, I saw the knife in her hand. She ignored her mother's startled gasp and pricked her finger. The scent of her blood reached my nose and I couldn't stop the veins that were crawling onto my face. Within a second, I was across the room, holding the blonde against the wall "You can be fucking glad that I can control myself. Any other vampire and you would be dead along with your mother and Mickey," I hissed at her "Think before you pull shit like that the next time." I stepped away from her and whirled around, storming past a pale and shaking Jackie and a shocked Mickey out of the door. I leaned against the railing outside of the flat and sighed. That girl had no common sense… She could be glad that I wasn't anyone else… Hell, a century ago I would have killed her without remorse.

"Are you alright, Ty?" Mickey's voice startled me.

I turned around to face him and sent him a fake smile "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Rose was out of line," he murmured, leaning against the railing next to me.

"Yes, she was," I told the boy, looking over my shoulder at the Tardis "Do you think the Doctor is going to be alright?"

Mickey shrugged "I honestly don't know… Tyra? When did you last feed?"

"Why?" I raised an eyebrow "You offering?"

"Do you need me to?" he questioned, looking a mixture between nervous and excited.

I gaped at him in surprise "Are you kidding?"

Mickey shook his head "No. I'm worried about you… You don't look alright, so if you need to drink some blood…"

"I – Thank you?" I whispered with a genuine smile "But not out here."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, practically dragging me back into the flat and to the room, the Doctor was lying in "Does it hurt?" Mickey asked curiously.

I smirked, showing all of my teeth "I can make you feel what I want you to. I can make it hurt, I can make you feel pleasure or I can make you feel nothing. It all depends on the person."

"Pleasure?" Mickey blinked, tilting his head to the side "Have you ever…?"

"Yes," I told him bluntly "There was a time I used to… feed and fuck." The boy's mouth opened and closed a few times "That's what we have taken to calling it. I haven't for a while though."

"Does it feel any different?" he inquired, leaning forward with wide eyes.

I blushed a little "As far as I know it feels quite pleasant but I have never really asked before."

"So," Mickey spoke up after we stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments "How do you want to do this?"

I bit my lip "Your wrist would be the best choice, I think. Are you really sure, Mickey? I can wait until I get the chance to go look for blood bags in the Tardis."

"Ty, you need it, right?" I nodded at his question and he thrust his wrist at me "Then go ahead. Just don't drain me," he joked with a wink.

I let out a snort and carefully grabbed his wrist. One last glance at the boy's trusting expression and I bit down, making sure not to hurt him. As the blood started flowing into my mouth, I felt veins creep up under my eyes and I sucked slowly, keeping an ear on Mickey's heartbeat. A scream from the door made me pull back quickly. Rose was standing in the doorway, her face burning with anger "What are you playing at?" the blonde shouted, storming over to me. Without a second of hesitation, she raised her hand, slapping me loudly.

I barely blinked at her and was about to react when Mickey shot up "Are you serious, Rose? I told Tyra to drink from me since she wasn't feeling well."

"You allowed that monster to bite you?" Rose gaped at her ex "She could have killed you."

"I trust Tyra," the boy argued, putting a hand on my arm in support "You have no right to kick up a fuss, Rose."

The blonde inhaled sharply "You're my friend, Mickey. Please, she's dangerous."

"She's standing right here," I snapped and shook off Mickey's hand "And I was trying to be nice. I really was… Even if it isn't in my nature. You've gone too fucking far, Rose." Within the blink of an eye, I was in front of her, staring into the blonde's eyes "You will not hit me again. Never. Do you understand?"

Rose nodded numbly "I understand."

"Great," I clapped and walked over to sit on the bed next to the Doctor.

"I'm going to tell the Doctor," Rose said after she snapped out of the daze.

I gestured in her direction, running my hand through the Doctor's crazy hair. It was all over the place but that made it look pretty good "Go ahead. I only defended myself."

"Here we go," Jackie announced, ignoring the tension in the room "Time the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student and she was fast asleep, so I just took it." She handed it to Rose, staying away from my side of the bed "Though I still say we should take him to the hospital."

"We can't," Rose shook her head. Mickey poked my shoulder and gestured to the door. I nodded and with one last look at the unconscious Doctor, I followed the boy out of the room.

Mickey looked at me apologetically "I'm sorry about Rose."

I shrugged "It's not your fault. She's just pissed… Although she can really be happy that the Doctor would hate me if I do anything worse to her. I don't want to lose the best thing that happened to me… Ever."

"Still. She was wrong to hit you," Mickey pointed out.

"And I did something to stop it," I countered "I'm serious, Mickey. Don't beat yourself up." We quieted down when the other two women walked past us into the kitchen.

From my place at the opposite wall, I could hear Jackie's voice rise in disbelief "How can he go changing his face? Is that a different face or is he a different person?"

"How should I know?" Rose snapped "Sorry. The thing is I thought I knew him, Mum. I thought me and him were… And then he goes and does this. I keep forgetting he's not human." I rolled my eyes at her tone. What Rose wasn't understanding was that she wasn't right for the Doctor… Neither was I for that matter but I was fine with being his friend… Rose was too immature and while in some aspects that was alright, now it showed that she really didn't understand what she was doing right or wrong. I could understand that she was shocked about the Doctor changing completely but even after both him and me told her that he was in fact still the Doctor she was still acting like this "The big question is where'd you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?"

"Howard has been staying over," Jackie admitted quietly.

That was when my attention was caught by the television that Mickey had just turned on. Harriet Jones was the Prime Minister now? Well, the Doctor had said that much but I hadn't really believed him. The woman was a bit too… I don't know… "Why is she on the telly?" Rose questioned, walking out of the kitchen.

"She's Prime Minister now," her mother pointed out "I'm eighteen quid a week better off. They're calling it Britain's Golden Age. I keep on saying my Rose has met her."

Rose shook her head with a small grin "Did more than that. Stopped World War Three with her. Harriet Jones."

" _Prime Minister, what about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money?_ " one of the reporters questioned on TV.

Harriet leaned forward a bit " _Now, that's where you're wrong. I completely disagree if you don't mind._ _The Guinevere One Space Probe represents this country's limitless ambition. British workmanship sailing up there among the stars."_

" _This is the spirit of Christmas,_ " another man – one who was responsible for the program – Llewellyn called out " _Birth and rejoicing and the dawn of a new age and that is what we're achieving fifteen million miles away. Our very own miracle."_

The narrator came back onto the screen and finished the report " _The unmanned probe Guinevere One is about to make its final descent. Photographs of the Martian Landscape should be received by midnight tonight."_

After that news report, Mickey and Rose went out to shop for some food that Jackie still needed for the Christmas dinner or something. I sank down on the sofa, burying my face in my hands. I had no idea what to do, no way of making the Doctor better "Are you alright?" Jackie questioned, keeping her distance from me.

I glanced up and sighed "You know that I won't hurt you, right? I might be a vampire but that didn't mean that I had a choice in the matter."

Jackie tilted her head "What do you mean?" she inquired softly.

"It doesn't matter," I shook my head.

"When we first met… You said that your family doesn't care?" Jackie shuffled forward, perching on the edge of the couch I was sitting on "Do you have any siblings? I wish that my Rose could have had siblings…"

"It's not all that it's made out to be," I pointed out with a sad grin "I have five siblings…"

Jackie's eyes widened "That's a lot."

"Yes. Well, my father was a wealthy landowner back in the new world," I murmured and when the blonde frowned at me in confusion "America."

"Have you ever had a parental influence in your life?" Jackie put a hand on my shoulder, staring at me.

I blinked up at her "Does it matter?"

Jackie sighed "How old were you when you were turned?"

"Barely sixteen. Just after…" I shook my head and got up, shrugging off the woman's hand "I'm going to check up on the Doctor." I curled up on the bed next to the Doctor, lying my head onto his chest. The dual heartbeat under my head was slowly lulling me to sleep.

I only woke up when the door was slammed open and Rose stormed past the bedroom "Get off the phone."

"It's only Bev," Jackie frowned in confusion "She says hello."

I leaned against the doorway, watching Rose snatch the phone away from her mother "Bev? Yeah. Look, it'll have to wait." She hung up the phone and threw it to the side "Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"

Mickey snapped his fingers "My mate Stan. He'll put us up."

"That's only two streets away," the younger blonde shook her head "What about Mo? Where's she living now?"

Jackie frowned, looking as confused as I was feeling "I don't know. Peak District."

"Well, we'll go to cousin Mo's then," Rose decided, pulling at her mother's hand.

"No, it's Christmas Eve," Jackie exclaimed "We're not going anywhere. What're you babbling about?"

Rose froze when she saw the giant tree that definitely hadn't been there before "Mum. Where did you get that tree? That's a new tree… Where did you get it?"

"I thought it was you," the older blonde blinked.

"How can it be me?" Rose gestured, backing away slowly.

Jackie tilted her head, even more confused now "Then who was it?"

Suddenly, the tree light up by itself and started playing Jingle Bells "Oh, you're kidding me," Rose breathed.

"Get out! Go, go. Get out," Mickey hurried, shoving us all in the direction of the front door when sections of the tree started to rotate in different directions. It started moving, copping through furniture like it was nothing. Mickey picked up a chair, trying to fend it off.

"We've got to save the Doctor," Rose shouted over the noise, pulling fruitlessly at the man's arm.

Jackie was standing in the doorway, looking over her shoulder nervously "What are you doing?"

"We can't just leave him," the younger blonde exclaimed.

"Mickey," I called when the tree had almost finished shredding the entire chair "Leave it. Come on." I pulled him away and shoved him into the bedroom in front of me. Stupidly, I hesitated for a moment too long, causing the tree to catch my side with one of its branches. The sheer force of it made me gasp in shock when I was thrown across the room, only to land against the wall by the Doctor's side with a painful groan.

"Tyra," Mickey called, hurrying to my side "Are you alright? Can you move?"

I gasped, my hand going to my side "I – Ouch…"

Suddenly, the Doctor sat up with the sonic in hand – Where did he get that from? – and aimed it at the deathly Christmas tree. With one flick of the switch, the killer tree exploded into tiny pieces, leaving only the hole where it crashed through moments ago "Remote control," he mumbled "But who's controlling it?" The Time Lord jumped out of bed, ignoring all of the shocked looks he was getting and reached down to pull me up "You okay?"

"Fine," I blinked "Are you?"

"Never better," he grinned manically. His grin was different but not a bad different. It suited him actually… The Doctor grabbed a dressing gown that was thrown over the back of a chair and helped me up after shrugging it on. His hand was still holding onto mine when he lead us outside to look around. Down on the street, three Santa's were staring up at us, one of them holding a radio controller.

Mickey pointed "That's them. What are they?"

"Shush," Rose hushed, watching as the Doctor aimed his screwdriver at them. The Santas backed away, beaming into the sky.

"They've just gone," Mickey blinked in confusion "What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offense but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

The Doctor ignored Mickey, still looking down at the spot the Santas had been standing before "Pilot fish."

"What?"

"They're just pilot fish," the Doctor repeated, falling back into a wall in pain.

Rose latched onto his arm worriedly "What's wrong?"

"I woke up too soon," he groaned "I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." The Time Lord exhaled some kind of golden energy "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of… Ow!"

Jackie helped her daughter to steady the alien, while Mickey stepped closer to me, poking at my side "Ow," I yelped, scooting away from the boy "What the hell, Mickey?"

"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly "Just wanted to see whether it was still bleeding or not."

I rolled my eyes and lifted my shirt a little to show him the healed cut "It's fine. See? Only a bit of wood that I should probably pull out soon."

Our conversation was cut short when Jackie went on a bit of a medical rant at the Doctor "What do you need? Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me. Painkillers?" The Time Lord was continuously trying to say something but was always cut off by the older woman "Do you need aspirin? Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol? Liquid Paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E? Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup?"

"How about you let him actually tell you what he needs?" I spoke up in amusement.

The Doctor breathed out shakily "We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then…" He broke off, fishing out an apple out of the dressing gown "Why is there an apple in my dressing gown?"

"Oh, that's Howard," Jackie replied, embarrassedly "Sorry."

The Doctor frowned "He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

"He gets hungry."

"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?" the Time Lord repeated incredulously.

Jackie shrugged "Sometimes."

The Doctor cried out, reaching out to grab onto me since I was the closest after he shifted walls earlier "Argh! Brain collapsing. The pilot fish. The pilot fish mean that something, something, something is coming." He passed out in my arms for the second time that day. I carefully picked him up again and carried him back to bed. After the Episode, he seemed worse than before. Rose was mopping the Doctor's forehead that was covered in sweat, while I was watching, listening to his heart – as in singular, heart – from one end of the room.

Twenty minutes later, Mickey returned with his laptop and with one last reassurance that the Doctor was still alive, I followed him to the living room "Jackie, I'm using the phone line. Is that alright?"

"Yeah," the woman called from the hallway "Keep a count of it."

I plopped on a chair next to him "What are you doing?"

"Looking up pilot fish," he replied, typing rapidly while the news were coming on again.

" _Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe,_ " the reporter was saying " _They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes._ "

The man in charge of the probe appeared " _Yes, we are. We're – we're back on schedule. We've received the signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success._ "

" _But is it true that you completely lost contact earlier tonight?_ " a man from the crowd of reporters called.

Llewellyn nodded " _Yes, we had a bit of a scare. Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it – it was just a blip. Only disappeared for a few seconds._ " He smiled nervously " _She's fine now, absolutely fine. We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks._ "

"Here we go," Mickey crowed in victory "Pilot fish. Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."

Rose peaked over his shoulder "Do you mean like sharks?"

"Great big sharks," the boy nodded "So what the Doctor means is, we had them, now we get that."

"Something's coming," Rose murmured in realization "How close?"

Mickey shrugged, while my eyes were firmly on the TV. A grainy picture appeared on the screen and I tilted my head thoughtfully. Those weren't rocks. At the least, not from Mars… "Funny sort of rocks," Jackie remarked.

I shook my head "Whatever that is, it's not rocks. And definitely not from Mars."

" _The first photographs. This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming over from the depths of space on Christmas morning._ " An angry red-eyed alien with a goat skull-ish head appeared when the picture cleared up. It growled and gurgled at the screen " _The face of an alien life form was transmitted live tonight on BBC1."_

" _On the 25_ _th_ _of December, the human race has been shown absolute proof that alien life exists,"_ the American news reader said.

The news started discussing alien life, while Mickey was now trying to hack into UNIT "Ty, Rose. Take a look," he gestured "I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast and it's coming this way."

"Coming for what?" Rose questioned "The Doctor?"

Mickey shrugged "I don't know. Maybe it's coming for all of us." He found a clear image of four of the aliens and looked up at us "Have you seen them before?"

I shook my head "No. But they look kinda…"

"Weird?" Mickey offered.

I grinned "I was going to say different but weird works just fine."

"Hey, there's a video here," the boy noticed, clicking on it.

Rose leaned forward, tilting her head in confusion "I don't understand what it's saying. The Tardis translates alien languages inside my head, all the time, wherever I am."

"So, why isn't it doing it now?" Mickey asked.

"I don't know," the blonde shook her head "Must be the Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit and he's – he's broken."

My head snapped around "He's not broken," I told her firmly "The Doctor might look human but he isn't. Just let him rest… He'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Rose snapped, glaring at me.

"Because I believe in him," I pointed out "You might wanna start doing the same thing."

We were once again cut off be the TV " _Despite claims of an alien hoax, it's been reported that NATO forces are on red alert. Speaking strictly off the record, government sources are calling this our longest night._ "

I rubbed my hand over my face and yawned. The hour of sleep I had earlier wasn't enough for me to function on, so maybe I should try to sleep some more before the situation would blow? I barely noticed Rose leaving the living room while I sank onto the sofa, snuggling into one of the pillows that were lying there. Suddenly, all the glass shattered, startling me into falling from the couch. What the hell? "What happened?" I mumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"The spaceship hit the atmosphere," Mickey explained, walking back into the flat "Rose decided that we're better off in the Tardis. Can you help me carry the Doctor?"

I grumbled, getting up from the sofa "I feel like that's becoming a habit. Aren't guys supposed to do the heavy lifting?"

"Only if the girls don't have super strength," Mickey teased. I huffed in mock annoyance and lifted the Doctor up for a third time, carefully making my way down the steps to where the Tardis was parked. The younger blonde shot me an irritated look when she saw that I was carrying the Doctor again.

Rose, Mickey and Jackie were each carrying several carrier bags "I don't get why we have to bring that stuff," Rose grunted.

"It's food," Jackie sighed "You said we need food."

Rose rolled her eyes, leaving a few bags on the ground "Just leave it." She unlocked the Tardis door, pushing it open. I stepped inside and shifted uncomfortably. The room that was warm and welcoming normally, was cold with just that bit of defensiveness to it. The Tardis was guarding her Time Lord to a certain extend, while making sure that he was taken care off as well.

"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey questioned, running his hand over the console lightly while I placed the Doctor onto the metal grating.

Rose shook her head "Not anymore, no."

"Well, you did before," the boy remarked.

"I know, but it's sort of been wiped out of my head," she sighed "Like it's forbidden. Try that again and I think the Universe rips in half."

Mickey turned to me "Do you know what happened after Rose came back?"

"I have no clue. I was a bit dead at the time." I held up my hands in surrender and leaned back against the console lightly. Jackie went to fetch more of the bags the others had left outside, when Rose started to press a few of the buttons "Maybe that's not the best idea," I tried to stop her.

"It has to work somehow," the blonde mumbled.

From my place on the grating next to the Doctor, I saw the odd pattern on the scanner "Maybe it's a distress signal," Mickey murmured, squinting at the funny language that was shown on screen.

"A fat lot of good that's going to do," Rose rolled her eyes.

The boy sighed "Are you going to be a misery all the time?"

"Yes."

"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking," Mickey joked.

Rose looked around "Where is she? I'd better give her a hand… It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine," Mickey called after her.

The blonde raised her eyebrow "Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I'm not that brave," Mickey mumbled, winking at me when I choke out a small laugh. Rose glanced at the Doctor before stepping outside where I barely saw her being grabbed by one of the creatures from the TV. The blonde screamed, causing Mickey to bolt up "Rose," he called, running out "Stay with the Doctor, Tyra." The boy was immediately grabbed as well but he barely managed to close the door before the aliens could come in.

I looked down at the Doctor and then up at the console "Can you show me what's going on outside?" I asked the Tardis, hoping against hope that she was better again. The screen frizzed to life and I could see Rose standing by Harriet Jones and Indra…

" _The Doctor, is he with you?_ " Harriet was asking.

Rose shook her head mournfully " _No,"_ she sighed " _We're on out own._ "

I sneered at her in disgust and turned my attention back to the Doctor. There had to be some way to wake him up that didn't hurt him… When Rose started to mess up, I cursed under my breath "Now would be the moment to wake up, Doc… Come on." The Time Lord didn't even stir and I groaned "I'm sorry for this but…" I placed my hands on the sides of the Doctor's face, carefully slipping into his mind. I hated doing this just because most of the people couldn't block my intrusion but we really needed the Doctor now, otherwise this situation would go to hell in a hand basket. When I was in place, I opened my eyes and gasped. I was standing in a huge round hall with lots of doors all around. Most of them had numbers on it already but there were some that were still a blank white. The first door was a sort of brown with a large painted one on it. It went all the way to the number eleven, every door being a different colour. The fifth door was a dark blueish green that should be holding the Doctor with the decorative vegetables according to what the Doctor told me before. My hands trailed across the doors and I couldn't stop the small grin at the bright orange door of the Sixth Doctor – probably the one with the Technicolour coat. Seven, eight… Here it was. Nine! I wrapped my hand around the door handle, trying to pull it down. When it wouldn't budge I frowned. Why was the Ninth Doctor locked away? Wasn't it him that I first met? A closer glance at the door revealed a huge bolt that locked it in place… Weird… But it was the Doctor's mind. Who was I to argue with what he did? The tenth door on the other hand wasn't locked, so I carefully peaked in and saw memories whirling around. Familiar memories of me, of Rose and of our last adventures. So… the Tenth Doctor was the one I first met? Didn't he say that he was the Ninth? I rested my hand on the wall for a short moment and smiled sadly "I'll definitely miss you, Doctor but I look forward to what you have to offer now." A feeling washed over me that made me laugh "Yeah, you were fantastic, I know. It was an honour to meet you. You'll always be my first Doctor. Thank you for showing me that things can get better, no matter how hopeless the situation seems."

I glanced around one more time and pulled the door close behind me. There was no more time… I could vaguely hear Rose digging herself in deeper and deeper and it was only a matter of time until the aliens tired of her. The next door didn't really have a colour yet. Opposed to the others… it was still a sort of light grey that was different from the completely blank doors as well. In the room behind the door, I could see a figure floating in the air with closed eyes "Doctor," I called quietly, stepping into the room.

"Tyra?" he frowned, peeling open one of his eyes "How are you here?"

"No time," I told him "I'm sorry for invading your mind but Rose is getting herself in trouble… She's talking about the Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorious and the Gelth Confederacy. I'm not sure how long the… was it Sycorax? How long they'll still listen."

The Doctor raised his head and rolled from whatever he had been lying on before "What is she trying to do?"

"Trying to be you?" I shrugged "Mickey is out there with her along with the Prime Minister and her aide."

"Alright… Let's get out of here," the Doctor clapped and a second later, I found myself back in my body. I swayed in my position on my knees and had to shake my head to clear it. Being shoved back into my own mind was a weird experience. Granted, it was a gentle shove but still. The Doctor was starting to wake up, so I helped him to his feet quickly, while the Tardis' translation matrix seemed to suddenly work again.

The Time Lord grinned at me and then threw the doors open "Did you miss me?" The Sycorax cracked the whip he was holding which the Doctor caught at the end. His body was blocking mine, so he could protect me against whatever was happening "You could have someone's eyes out with that."

"How dare…?" the Sycorax blustered and gestured another of the aliens who stormed at the Doctor and me.

The Doctor grabbed it, breaking it across his knee "You just can't get the staff," he shook his head and pointed at the main Sycorax "Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." I walked over to Mickey to make sure the boy was still alright "Mickey, hello. And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like 'This is Your Life'. Thanks for waking me up, Ty." I gave him a thumbs up "Now, first thing's first. Be honest, how do I look?" the Doctor questioned, looking from Rose to me and back.

"Er, different," Rose stuttered.

The Time Lord tilted his head "Good different or bad different?"

"Good different," I assured him with a grin.

He leaned forward "Am I… ginger?"

Rose shook her head "No, you're just sort of brown."

"I wanted to be ginger," the Doctor pouted childishly "I've never been ginger. And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were. You have up on me." He blinked "Oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger…"

"You were rude and not ginger before, Doc. Nothing changed in that department," I pointed out.

Harriet was staring at the new Doctor with a puzzled frown "I'm sorry. Who is this?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord told her.

Rose nodded "He's the Doctor."

"But what happened to my Doctor?" Harriet questioned, looking at Indra who looked similarly confused "Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

"I'm him," the Doctor explained "I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."

Indra scratched his head "But you can't be. Can he?"

"He really is," I assured both of them "Hey, Indra. Good to see you again."

The Doctor only had eyes for the Prime Minister at the moment "Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war. It was the thought of your mother being on her own."

"Oh, my God," the older woman breathed, looking up at the Doctor with wide eyes.

"Did you win the election?" the Time Lord asked with a gentle smile.

Harriet nodded her head "Landslide majority."

"If I might interrupt," the leader of the Sycorax cleared his throat.

The Doctor turned around "Yes, sorry. Hello, big fellow."

"Who exactly are you?"

"Well, that's the question."

"I demand to know who you are," the alien roared.

"I don't know! See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" He winked at me, causing me to let out a little laugh at his flirty behaviour "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed? Left-handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob. And how am I going to react when I see this, a great big threatening button. A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?" The Doctor bounded up to where a big red button was situated "And what have we got here? Blood?"

I wrinkled my nose "A Positive," I grimaced "Not the best…"

"Yeah, definitely blood," the Doctor continued, winking at me when he heard what I said "Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron. Ah, but that means blood control. Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives. Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this." He slapped his hand down on the button.

"No!" Rose and Harriet screamed.

"You killed them," Indra stuttered shocked.

"What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?"

The Sycorax glared at the Doctor "We allow them to live."

"Allow?" the Time Lord snorted "You've no choice. I mean, that's all blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis. You can't hypnotise them to death. Survival instinct's too strong."

I looked up at Mickey "I can compel someone to kill themselves."

"Really?" the boy tilted his head "Did you ever…?"

I shook my head "I didn't but my brothers did."

"Blood control was just one form of conquest," the Sycorax leader grunted "I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

The Doctor hummed "Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that, of course you could. But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than. No, hold on," he frowned and shook his head "Sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!"

"Or what?" the Sycorax dared.

"Or," the Doctor started, taking a sword from one of the other aliens scattered around "I challenge you." The laughter around the spaceship made him blink "Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

The leader grinned viciously "You stand as this world's champion."

"Thank you," the Time Lord smiled "I've no idea who I am but you just summed me up." He threw his dressing gown to me "So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a _cranak pel casacree salvak_?"

I shrugged when Mickey caught my eye. It had to have been an insult because that was what finally made up the leader's mind "For the planet?"

"For the planet," the Doctor nodded and so the fight started. I buried my face in Mickey's chest, not sure whether I could look at the Doctor's form. He had held a sword before but his stance was pretty horrifying for someone who had grown up around swords.

"Are you alright?" Mickey whispered when the Doctor was forced to retreat up a tunnel.

I ran a hand down my face "Sorry. I'm fine… It's just a bit painful to watch the sword fight. The Doctor isn't the best fighter but he knows what he's doing."

Out in the daylight, the Doctor was driven back to the edge. When Rose made to run forward, the Doctor shouted at her "Stay back. Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet." The leader knocked the Doctor down and slashed off the man's hand "You cut my hand off."

"Ya! Sycorax," the Sycorax leader cheered.

The Doctor stood up, holding up the stump that had held his hand "And now I know what sort of man I am," he proclaimed "I'm lucky. Because quite by chance I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this." His arm shimmered and slowly his cut off hand was replaced by a new one.

"Witchcraft," the Sycorax accused.

"Time Lord," the Doctor corrected.

Rose grasped a sword from one of the aliens next to her "Doctor," she called throwing it to him.

"Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No arguments from me," the blonde smiled faintly. It was obvious that she still wasn't too enthusiastic about the new Doctor but maybe that would change. He was very charismatic and that would definitely help him around.

"Want to know the best bit?" the Time Lord shot at us "This new hand? It's a fightin' hand." The Texan accent he was trying was a bit much in my opinion. They started fighting again and sooner rather than later, the Doctor had the Sycorax disarms, thumping both hilts into its abdomen. It fell, almost rolling from the edge of the spaceship "I win."

"Then kill me," the Sycorax spat.

The Doctor shook his head "I'll spare your life if you'll take this Champion's command. Leave this planet and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes."

"Swear on the blood of your species," the Time Lord demanded.

The leader nodded reluctantly "I swear."

"There we are, then," the Doctor nodded "Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow." He turned to walk towards us and was immediately mobbed by Harriet and Rose.

"Bravo," the Prime Minister clapped.

Rose smiled coyly "That says it all. Bravo."

"Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams." He wiggled his eyebrows.

I helped him into the dressing gown "Very Arthur Dent, isn't it?"

"Now, there was a nice man," the Doctor remembered "Hold on, what have I got in here? A satsuma. Ah, that friends of you mother's. He does like his snacks, doesn't he?" He looked at Rose "But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?" Behind us the Sycorax leader got up, grabbing his sword and ran at the Doctor's back. I was about to react when the Doctor threw the satsuma at a control on the spaceship hull. A piece of the wing opened up, causing the other alien to fall to his death "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man." He lead us back into the spaceship and turned to speak to the remaining aliens "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of it's riches, it's people, it's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is defended." We were beamed away with the Tardis and a second later, we were standing on a street somewhere in London. I didn't know my way around London to know where we were now.

Rose frowned and looked around "Where are we?"

"We're just off Bloxom Road," Mickey told her "We're just around the corner. We did it!"

The Doctor stopped their celebration for a moment "Wait a minute, wait a minute." He only relaxed when the spaceship flew away.

Mickey started cheering again, whirling my around once "Go on, my son. Oh, yeah!"

"Yeah!" Rose added, jumping onto her ex's back once he had released me "Don't come back." The blonde then pulled Indra into a hug as well, while I stayed off to the side.

I watched the Doctor and Harriet hug with a small smile. Harriet looked up at the man "Absolutely the same man. Are there many more out there?"

"Oh, not just Sycorax," the Doctor hummed "Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And he human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet is so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it."

"Rose," Jackie shouted, running over to us.

The younger blonde grinned "Mum!"

"Oh, talking of trouble," the Doctor mumbled.

My attention was caught by Indra who walked a few steps to the side to answer a phone call. My eyes narrowed when I picked up the topic of the call "Don't do it," I warned the Prime Minister when Indra told her that 'Torchwood' was ready. What was Torchwood supposed to be anyway? "They're leaving."

Harriet looked at me silently before turning to Indra "Tell them to fire."

"Is that how you work, Prime Minister?" I glared at her "This makes me glad that I'm not a British citizen."

"I looked you up," the woman told me with an edge of a threat "Do you want to know what I found?"

I narrowed my eyes "Are you threatening me, Harriet Jones?"

"I don't know," she raised her eyebrow at the same time as five green beams of light streaked up into the sky. Within a minute the Sycorax ship was completely gone. They were all dead…

The Doctor stalked over to where I was standing opposite of the Prime Minister "That was murder."

"It was defense," she retorted "It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."

"But they were leaving," the Time Lord gestured, sounding incredulous.

Harriet shook her head "You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, Tyra, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case we have to defend ourselves."

"Britain's Golden Age," the Time Lord spat.

I sneered at both the Prime Minister and Indra for a moment before I whirled around. While I had done my fair share of inexcusable things, I never ever would kill someone with their back turned. Not even if I was attacked. I might attack when their backs were turned but killing someone when they weren't looking wasn't honourable. It wasn't what I learned… If Mikael taught us anything it was that honour was important even if it came from a man who hit his children. Mickey wrapped his arm around my shoulders while we waited for the Doctor to finish threatening Harriet. After a few moments, the Time Lord walked over with Harriet shouting after him. He didn't turn around again, just continued walking.

After the Doctor went to get dressed and the others went back to the Tyler's flat, I retreated back to my room. I didn't feel like intruding on their Christmas… It was moments like these that I really missed my siblings. While we usually fought a lot, family was everything. We only had each other, so I really hoped that one day we'll be a real family again.

In my room, I grabbed a blood bag from the fridge, the blood that Mickey had so graciously donated felt like ages ago. Once the bag was empty, I threw it into the trash and walked out of the Tardis. While I wasn't into Christmas or anything – We never celebrated it when I was a child and I didn't really care much for it – it was still amazing to see the world celebrating. There were red and green light everywhere and Christmas music was drifting from several windows. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the Tardis, just letting the impressions wash over me.

"Ty," Mickey called, walking towards me "Why are you down here?"

I shrugged "I doubt I'm being missed."

The boy frowned "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I smiled "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know that you can come and eat with us, right?" Mickey asked.

I shook my head "It's Rose's family. Even earlier… I don't fit in, Mickey. Maybe I should just do everyone the favour and leave again. Better than them having to put up with a monster."

Mickey rested his hands on my shoulders and shook me lightly "You're not a monster. I don't know how long it takes to get that through your thick head."

"Always once more," I quipped with a sad smile "You should go back before you're missed."

"I don't want to leave you on your own," he admitted and looked up at the flat "They can do without me for a while." I rested my head on his shoulder lightly, just enjoying the company for a few moments before Mickey started talking again "You should tell the Doctor, you know?"

"Hm?" I hummed questioningly.

"About Rose slapping you," Mickey said.

I frowned "Why would I tell him about that? I took care of it… It's fine, Mickey."

"You shouldn't let Rose walk over you," the boy sighed.

"If there's anything I don't let anyone do it is walk over me," I snorted "I handled it, Mick. Just give it a rest, alright?"

He hesitated but nodded in defeat "If you're sure."

I looked up at him "Will you come with us? I mean, I know that you said you didn't want to but…"

"I'll think about it, okay?"

I nodded and looked up at the block of flats again "You really should go back… I'll be fine on my own, I promise."

Mickey looked reluctant to leave me but in the end, he ruffled my hair and walked back towards the door "I expect to see you before you guys leave."

"Yes, sir," I saluted with a small grin and leaned back against the Tardis for a few more minutes before I unlocked the door, deciding to wander the halls for a little while.

When I arrived at a dead end, I glanced at the wall "You want to tell me something?" As an answer, the door in front of me opened, revealing a beautiful green garden that went as far as the eye could see. I took a deep breath, lying down on the grass with a sigh. My life had changed so much in the space of a year… I was only starting to live when for over a thousand years I only existed. The Doctor had shown me that you could have fun and everything that he showed me was done with a one of a kind enthusiasm. He loved what he did and that was something that I never knew I needed.

**3rd Person PoV**

When the Doctor had changed into his new clothes, a brown suit and the coat that Janis Joplin gave him a while back, he went up to the flat to suffer through some domestics. He was confused and slightly worried when he didn't see Tyra anywhere but when no one mentioned her absence he decided to keep quiet for now.

Mickey frowned at the door and stood up immediately after they finished eating. Through the window, he saw Tyra leaning against the side of the Tardis with her eyes closed. She looked a little lonely, so without mentioning anything to the others, he decided to join her for a little while. The boy wanted to talk to the vampire about something anyway.

What he didn't notice though was that the Time Lord had watched him and with a short glance out of the window, he followed Mickey down when the two Tyler women were otherwise occupied. The Doctor stayed back, out of sight of the two, just listening to what they were saying. How had he never noticed that Tyra was feeling this way? Now that the Doctor thought back, he could see that she had held back a lot. Maybe he could change that though… The girl deserved a second chance and he would make sure that she enjoyed it. She was also one of the only ones of his Companions who could stay with him for however long either of them wanted. When they quieted down, he was about to announce his presence but froze at the next words that came out of Mickey's mouth. Tell him what? Didn't she want to travel with him anymore? Tyra had said that she would still like to continue travelling with him but now he wasn't sure whether she had changed her mind.

"About Rose slapping you," Mickey said. Rose did what now? The Time Lord leaned against the wall in front of him, trying to wrap his head around what he heard. He would definitely have to talk to the blonde about that. If there was one thing he didn't accept was his Companions hurting each other.

The Doctor smiled at the girl's honesty when she asked whether Mickey wanted to come with them. Even though the Time Lord liked to mess with the boy, he was actually pretty clever and it was nice to see Tyra getting along with him. They really hit it off and that was something he thought the youngest Original needed. Before Mickey could run into him, the Doctor walked back to the flat, thoughts on what to do about the situation.

"Where have you been?" Rose frowned, crossing her arms "And where did Mickey go?"

"He'll be back in a moment," the Doctor said, running his hands through his hair. How to start this conversation? He looked up at Mickey when the boy returned quietly. The Time Lord was quiet for a few more minutes "Listen, Rose…"

Jackie cut in before he could continue, holding the phone to her ear "It's Beth. She says go and look outside."

Rose looked from the Doctor to her mother "Why?"

"I don't know," the older blonde shook her head "Just go outside and look. Come on, shift." She ushered the other three out of the door. Compared to five minutes ago, the ground was covered with white flakes falling from the sky. Streaks of light crisscrossed the sky and it looked like a Christmas dream come true for everyone but the Doctor.

Rose gasped in delight "Oh, it's beautiful. What are they, meteors?"

"It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash."

"Okay, not so beautiful," the younger blonde mumbled, her smile fading.

The Doctor shook his head "This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now. Everyone saw it. Everything's new."

"What about you?" Rose questioned nervously "What are you going to do next?"

"Well, back to the Tardis," he shrugged "Same old life."

Rose hummed "On your own?"

"Well, Tyra is still there… Do you still want to come?" the Time Lord asked, looking down at the blonde.

The blonde nodded "Yeah. There is something I have to tell you though…"

"What is it?" the Doctor blinked. Was she going to tell him about slapping Tyra?

"Tyra compelled me when you were unconscious," Rose told him with a small pout on her face.

The Time Lord raised an eyebrow. Was that what the vampire meant when she told Mickey that she handled it? "What did you do, Rose? I know Tyra and she wouldn't just compel someone because she felt like it."

"I didn't do anything," she protested

"Rose, did you slap Tyra?" the Doctor asked, crossing his arms.

The blonde hesitated "What? No! Why? What did she tell you?"

Mickey made a noise at the back of his throat. He had heard everything the two had talked about. While he wasn't too happy that the Doctor had listened to him and Ty talk earlier, he was glad that the Time Lord knew what Rose did "You slapped her, Rose and that's why she compelled you."

The Doctor sighed "If you want to come with me, I want you to apologize to Tyra tomorrow, alright?"

"Fine," Rose agreed reluctantly.

"Thank you," the Doctor smiled, forgiving the blonde for what she did. After all, his change probably shocked her quite a bit. Tyra knew what was going on, Rose, on the other hand, had no idea.

Half an hour later, the Doctor excused himself to look for Tyra. He really needed to talk to her now… Not only about what he overheard but also about earlier that day when she woke him up… He needed to know what she saw in his mind. Tyra didn't mention anything but that told him that he would definitely tell her what she wanted to know.

It took him a lot longer to find her than expected but he after the Doctor threatened the Tardis, she showed him to where she had stuck the Chinese gardens. He smiled when he saw Tyra lying on the grass with her eyes closed. She looked more relaxed than he saw her in a while although there was a certain sadness in her… He padded over to her, sitting down next to her head "Hey."

**Tyra PoV**

"Hi," I breathed, opening my eyes to look up at him for a moment "How was dinner?"

"Domestics," he shrugged, a bit awkwardly "Still not a fan."

I hummed "I think you're going to have to get used to it. From what I've seen of Jackie she's not going to ever let you go."

The Doctor snorted "Don't sell yourself short. As far as I've heard you made an impression as well…"

"I'm sure," I muttered bitterly.

"Ty," the Time Lord sighed, tugging at my long hair "When you were talking to Mickey earlier… I heard."

I closed my eyes "So? Are you going to tell me to leave now?"

"What? No!" the Doctor denied and stood up. He stuck out his hand pulling me up when she put my smaller one into his "Come on. I want to show you something." He lead me to a Chinese pavilion that was situated towards the end of the garden. The pavilion was a small red structure with a typically Chinese roof "Sit."

"What are you doing?" I frowned in confusion when he dropped down across from me.

The Time Lord smiled at me "I wanted to talk to you about what you saw in there." He tapped the side of his head "And I thought you'd prefer it to be more comfortable."

"You don't have to tell me anything," I shook my head "I had no right to go into your head in the first place."

"You woke me up in time," he shook his head "Also, I might need to talk about what happened to someone and you are probably one of the few people who understand."

I smiled at him thankfully "If you're sure?"

"I am. Come here." The Doctor pulled at my hands, getting me to scoot a little closer to him. He then raised my hands to his temples and looked at my eyes "Go on," he urged.

"I –"

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a grin "Just do it, will you?"

"Fine," I huffed and closed my eyes, concentrating on slipping back into his mind. This time I didn't land in the middle of the room, rather I was standing inside the eleventh room that I found the Doctor in earlier. The only difference to the last time was that the door behind me was a brilliant midnight blue colour now "Now what?"

The Time Lord grabbed my hand and lead me out "I'm not sure if you've seen but behind all of these doors are my previous selves."

"I saw," I murmured and ran my hand over the tenth door "You really were fantastic, you know?"

"Oh?"

I nodded "Even though you saw so much, you still found joy in the smallest of things. You showed me that it was alright to leave the past behind for a while…"

The Doctor looked down at me with a big grin "You should give yourself more credit than that."

"Maybe," I shrugged "Can I ask about this door?" I pointed to the ninth door that was locked "I thought your previous body was your ninth?"

"Ah," the Time Lord sighed with a small wince "It's a time that I don't really like to acknowledge… My ninth body wasn't the Doctor… He broke the promise that I made when I took the name."

I inhaled in realization "It was your body during the Time War?"

"Yes. The Warrior is the one who ended it all," the Doctor explained "He eradicated every Time Lord, every Time Lady and even children."

"I know that you think about it like this but there's something else you have to realize," I murmured, taking my hands from his face "If you hadn't done what you did the whole universe would have suffered more than it did. It doesn't make it alright or make it better but you had no choice."

The Doctor exhaled shakily and pulled me into his lap, hugging the stuffing out of me "Thank you, Ty. I'm glad that I can talk to you…"

"I – It's only fair that I tell you something in return," I told him nervously "Is there something you want to know?"

"You told me about your siblings but you never really mentioned your parents… Can I ask why?" the Doctor tilted his head, not letting me go.

I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder "My parents are… There's no word to really describe them. My mother never really cared much for me. My oldest brother and sister were her favourites. The rest of us were just… there. Mikael – my father – on the other hand was worse. He was an abusive son of a bitch," I mumbled "You met Nik during the Blitz. He had it the hardest with Mikael. After we were turned we found out that he wasn't our full brother. My mother cheated on our father and he took it out on Nik." I took a couple of deep breaths and shuddered "I was one of his favourite targets as well. You probably noticed but I was never really the girliest girl out there and back then it just wasn't accepted that woman did anything but housework. I still remember this moment when Mikael found me in the forest practising with a sword… I –"

"I wouldn't want to talk about them either," the Doctor breathed "It just makes it even more amazing that you turned into the girl I see in front of me."

"Thank you," I murmured, not really believing him. We stayed in the garden for the rest of the night and after a few hours I fell asleep, curled up next to the Doctor.


	3. New Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with another enormous chapter. I feel like that's going to happen a lot with this part of the story. I have part of Tooth and Claw written up as well and that's already pretty long as well. Considering that I'm not even a quarter done with it.
> 
> Thank you so much for all of your Reviews. I really, really appreciate them.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"Have you got everything?" Jackie questioned, fretting over Rose who had a huge bag with her.

I glanced over at them and rolled my eyes "We'll keep in touch, right?" I asked Mickey, looking up at him.

"Sure," he grinned, pulling me into a big hug "What kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned you."

I snorted and wrapped my arms around his waist and sighed "Wish me luck," I mumbled into his chest "I'm sure I'm going to need it."

"It won't be that bad." Mickey poked my cheek "How was your talk with the Doctor last night?"

"We talked," I shrugged "I'm not sure what you want to hear."

"Details," Mickey laughed "But you're not going to give me those…"

I gently hit him in the arm "You're one noisy friend." I hugged him again and turned to walk into the Tardis "And Mickey? Thanks… for yesterday."

"Not for this," he shook his head "That's what friends are for."

"I… Thank you." I waved at Jackie and slipped through the doors of the Tardis while Rose was still saying goodbye to her mother.

The Doctor looked up when I came inside "Rose still outside?"

I nodded and slumped down on the jump seat "Yup. Not sure how long she's going to be."

"Alright," the Time Lord shrugged, pulling me up "Come here for a moment. Here…" He pointed to several buttons and levers "To power up the Tardis you need to pull these two down, this up and press the green button."

"Why are you showing me this?" I asked the Doctor.

He looked down at me "You kept your head in a tough situation… I think that warrants at least a little lesson. Depending on how you're gonna do maybe we'll continue."

I looked back down at the console, watching him righten the levers again. When he raised his eyebrow at me I sighed "These two down, this up and the green button. That's just the powering up, right? Cause I remember you and Jack doing something with the red buttons and the levers over there."

"That's later on. But impressive," the Doctor smiled, ruffling my hair "I'll tell you about what all of the levers and buttons mean another time." He pointed at the monitor "I think Rose is done now."

I darted forward and hugged him for a moment "Thank you."

Rose ran inside, dropping her bag to the floor "So where are we going?"

"Further than we've ever gone before," the Doctor grinned, pointing me to the levers I asked him about earlier "Let's do this." He hit several buttons and I pulled the lever, propelling us into the Time Vortex. The Doctor landed the Tardis, materialising us across the river from a massive city. Like a seriously big city with flying cars overhead "It's the year five billion and twenty-three. We're in the galaxy M87, and this? This is New Earth."

"Wait… That's just…" I closed my eyes for a moment "What? Twenty-three years past the explosion of the Earth?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at me "Hence the New Earth part."

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled, throwing myself onto the grass a little way away from the Tardis.

Rose looked up at the Doctor with a huge grin "That's amazing. I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet, different sky." She sniffed the air "What's that smell?"

As soon as she asked that, I had already picked up several blades of grass, sniffing at them "Is that apple?"

"Apple grass," the Doctor nodded, coming over to where I was sitting.

Rose latched onto his arm "It's beautiful. Oh, I love this. Can I just say, traveling with you, I love it."

The Doctor freed his arms carefully and smiled down at the blonde "Me too." He then shrugged off his jacket, spreading it out next to where I was watching the cars "So, as you said, Ty… In the year five billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted."

I yelped when he picked me up, depositing me on top of the spread out jacket "Doctor."

He smirked, not even noticing the glare that Rose sent me behind his back "So anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up, oh yeah, they get all nostalgic, big revival movement but then find this place. Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in."

"What's the city called?" Rose questioned, pulling the Doctor's attention to her with a smug look at me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the cars flying overhead.

"New New York."

The blonde scoffed "Oh, come on."

"Why not?" I frowned "I mean New York was New Amsterdam once… There's New Orleans named after the French city Orleans… I don't doubt that people would want another New York…"

"Well, strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. What?" He stopped at the look Rose was sending him.

She shook her head "You're so different…"

I nudged his side lightly "New New Doctor, don't you reckon? Or would that be New New New New New New New New New New Doctor?"

"I think New New Doctor fits better," he snorted "How many news was that?"

I shrugged "Lost count… Sorry."

Rose jumped up from the other side of the coat "Can we go and visit New New York? SO good they named it twice."

"Well, I thought we might go there first," the Time Lord pointed, fighting to get into his coat again. As I followed his finger, I saw an elegant pair of curved skyscrapers standing apart from the city on our side of the river.

The blonde frowned in confusion "Why, what is it?"

"Some sort of hospital," the Doctor explained "Green moon on the side. That's the universal symbol for hospitals. I got this… A message on the psychic paper." He flipped open the psychic paper and I looked up at him in confusion "Someone wants to see me."

"Hm," Rose hummed "And I thought we were just sight-seeing." She let out a huge sigh and turned to walk off "Come on then. Let's go and buy some grapes."

I walked next to the Doctor, still looking at the sky in amazement "You know," I started quietly "In the 20th century people thought by the early 21st century the cars would fly… It's kind of fascinating to see the advancements in technology so far into the future… Although I doubt that flying is the only thing the cars can do?"

"You're right," the Doctor nodded "They look different but the technology inside… The technology inside is amazing." As we neared the hospital, the Time Lord started to get slightly anxious "Why did it have to be a hospital?" he grumbled, shivering at the white walls.

Rose scoffed at him "Bit rich coming from you."

"I can't help it," he exclaimed "I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps…"

' _The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted,'_ a voice called over the tannoy.

I looked around, easily keeping pace with the Doctor. I stopped for a millisecond when a cat-nurse-nun person walked past me with a small smile. Rose followed the Doctor and tilted her head "Very smart… Not exactly NHS."

"No shop," the Time Lord pouted "I like the little shop."

Rose ignored his pouting "I thought this far in the future, they'd have cured everything."

"That's what the doctors thought back in the days but more viruses appear the more medicine evolves," I pointed out, remembering the time of the Black Death.

"The human race moves on but so do the viruses… It's an ongoing war," the Doctor added.

The blonde finally noticed the faces of the nursing staff in their nun-like glory. She froze, staring after the cat "They're cats."

"Now, don't stare," the Time Lord admonished "Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow… That's where I'd put the shop." He pointed at a corner of the reception, striding towards one of the elevators "Right there." I quickly followed him into the elevator and looked back at Rose who was still frozen to the spot "Ward 26, thanks."

"Hold on! Hold on," Rose shouted, running in our direction just as the doors closed.

The Doctor pressed his ear to the doors "Oh, too late. We're going up."

"It's alright," I heard Rose call out "There's another lift."

"Ward 26," the Time Lord reminded "And watch out for the disinfectant."

"Watch out for what?" I wondered what the Doctor meant by disinfectant but I honestly wasn't sure whether I actually wanted to know. The only thing I made sure was to prepare myself for everything that could be used to disinfection.

The Doctor was still pressed against the elevator door "The disinfectant."

"That what?" Rose asked again.

"The dis…" the Time Lord broke off and sighed "Oh, you'll find out."

' _Commence stage one disinfection.'_ The voice sounded over the speaker before I could asked what the Doctor meant. Icy cold water shot from the walls and the ceiling, causing me to jump slightly. I glared at the Doctor who just started running his hand through his hair. The next stage was a very aggressive blow dry. I let out a sneeze when a white powder puffed down on me.

As soon as we got off the elevator, I slugged the Time Lord in the stomach "I hate you so much right now."

"What did I do?" he grinned, tugging at my still damp hair.

"You could have warned me for one," I grumbled when we started following a veiled nurse around the ward.

The Doctor quickly explained the situation and looked around "Nice place. No shop, downstairs. I'd have a shop. Not a big one… Just a shop, so people can shop."

"Oh, you definitely have a gob now," I groaned "I apologize for him. He doesn't know when to let things go."

"Hey," he exclaimed "That isn't very nice."

I raised an eyebrow "But very true."

The nurse removed her veil "The hospital is a place of healing," she told the Doctor sharply.

"A shop does some people the world of good," the Time Lord defended himself "Not me… Other people."

"The Sisters of Plentitude take a lifelong vow to help and to mend," the nurse told us.

I tilted my head in interest "Can I ask you something?" When she nodded I continued "Are you an order of nuns who happen to be nurses or are you just both?"

"Our order has devoted itself to healing the sick," the nurse explained, ushering us past an open cubicle.

"Excuse me," a woman shrieked at us when we stopped to look at the very overweight man "Members of the public may only gaze upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the Senate of New New York."

The Doctor looked at the man on the bed curiously "That's Petrifold Regression, right?"

"I'm dying, sir," the man nodded "A lifetime of charity and abstinence and it ends like this…"

I rolled my eyes when the woman with him built herself up in front of us "Any statements made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance."

"What's Petrifold Regression?" I asked the Doctor when Sister Jatt waved at us to leave the Duke of Manhattan alone.

"He'll be up in no time," Sister Jatt told us.

The Doctor made a noise in the back of his throat "I doubt it. Petrifold Regression?" He looked at me when he said that "He's turning to stone. There won't be a cure for oh, a thousand years? He might be up and about but only as a statue."

"Have faith in the Sisterhood," the nurse smiled "But is there no one here you recognize? It's rather unusual to visit without knowing the patient."

The Time Lord poked me in the side and pointed at a large glass container "I think I've found him." I smiled when I recognized the Face of Boe from the first adventure the Doctor took me on.

"Novice Hame," Sister Jatt spoke up, looking at the other nurse who was sitting next to the glass tank "If I can leave this gentleman and the lady in your care?"

Before she could walk away, the Doctor stopped her "Oh, I think my friend got lost. Rose Tyler. Could you ask at reception?"

"Certainly, sir," she replied with a fake smile.

I leaned over at him "I think you annoyed her," I told the Time Lord.

"I did not," he huffed.

"Face it, Doc… You definitely did," I pointed out.

Novice Hame looked up at us "I'm afraid the Face of Boe is asleep. That's all he tends to do these days. Are you friends… or?"

"We just met once," the Doctor murmured "On Platform One. What's wrong with him?"

"I'm so sorry," the car nurse breathed "I thought you knew."

"Knew what?" I questioned, kneeling down in front of the tank.

Novice Hame bit her lip "The Face of Boe is dying."

"Of what?"

"Old age," she shrugged "The one thing we can't cure. He's thousands of years old. Some people say millions, although that's impossible."

The Doctor looked down at me and knelt next to me "Oh, I don't know." He nudged my side "I like impossible." He turned his attention to Boe "I'm here," he whispered "I look a bit different but it's me… It's the Doctor."

We waited for Rose for a few more minutes before the Doctor got up to grab some water. The voice on the tannoy sounded again ' _Hope, harmony and health. Hope, harmony and health._ ' That sounded suspiciously like some kind of brainwash bullshit or something. I had no idea what the cat-nun-nurses were all about but for some reason I wasn't too sure about their sincerity. The Time Lord handed Hame a cup and held out his for me to take. I took a small sip and handed it back "Thanks."

"That's very kind," Novice Hame smiled, clutching the cup "There's no need."

"You're the one working," the Doctor pointed out, taking a gulp of the cup he took back from me.

Hame shook her head "There's not much to do, just maintain his smoke. And I suppose I'm company. I can hear him singing, sometimes, in my mind. Such ancient songs."

"Are we the only visitors?" the Time Lord questioned curiously.

"The rest of Boe-kind became extinct long ago. He's the only one left," Novice Hame explained "Legends says that the Face of Boe has watched the universe grow old. There are all sorts of superstitions around him. One story says that just before his death, the Face of Boe will impart his great secret, that he will speak those words only to one like himself."

The Doctor tilted his head "What does that mean?"

"It's just a story," Hame shrugged.

"Tell me the rest."

"It's said he'll talk to a wanderer," the nurse said "To the man without a home. The lonely God and his Warrior." I stood up and grasped the Doctor's hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

The Doctor was silent for a little moment before he blinked back the dark emotions "Where the hell is Rose?"

"I don't know… Do you want me to call her?" I asked, looking around the ward. She shouldn't have taken this long… I handed my phone to the Time Lord when he held out his hand.

He quickly found the blonde's number and held the smartphone up to his ear "Rose, where are you?"

" _How does she speak?_ " I heard Rose's voice hiss quietly on the other side of the line.

A man's voice answered, equally as muffled " _Old Earth Cockney._ "

" _Er, wotcha,_ " Rose's voice said. I raised an eyebrow… That wasn't Rose but who was it? I mean, I knew that possession was possible through magic but around the Doctor nothing seemed to be supernatural. Rather alien… I'd have to ask him later.

"Where have you been?" the Doctor continued "How long does it take to get to Ward 26?"

Rose hummed " _I'm on my way, governor. I shall proceed up the apples and pears._ "

The Time Lord and I exchanged a confused look, mouthing 'apples and pears' at each other. He shrugged, a perplexed expression on his face "You'll never guess. I'm with the Face of Boe. Remember him?"

" _Of course I do,_ " Rose's voice pitched a little, indicating she had no idea what the Doctor was on about " _That big old… boat… race…_ "

It was then that I noticed the Duke of Manhattan seemingly very happy "I'd better go," the Doctor muttered into the phone "See you in a minute." He hung up, handing me back the phone with a thanks."

"Didn't think I was going to make it," the Duke exclaimed cheerfully "It's that man and woman again. They're my good luck charms. Come in. Don't be shy."

"Doctor?" I spoke up, ignoring Clovis about to start nattering again "I feel like that wasn't…"

Clovis cut me off "Any friendship expressed by the Duke of Manhattan does not constitute a form of legal contract."

"Are you kidding me?" I frowned at her "You are being a bit of a bitch."

"Tyra," the Doctor scolded, hitting me on the back of the head.

I shrugged "What? It's not like I'm wrong. She has been going at us since we stepped a foot in here. It's getting annoying."

"Still," he sighed, waving off the waiter with the champagne "You had Petrifold Regression, right?"

"That being the operative word. Past tense. Completely cured," the Duke nodded.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "But that's impossible."

"Primitive species would accuse us of magic," another cat nurse spoke up from behind us. She was radiating smugness "But it's merely the tender application of science."

"How on Earth did you cure him?" the Doctor demanded.

The nurse looked up at him "How on New Earth, you might say."

"What's in that solution?" the Time Lord demanded to know again.

"A simple remedy," she shrugged.

The Time Lord narrowed his eyes "Then tell me what it is."

"I'm sorry," she shook her head "Patient confidentiality. I don't believe we've met. My name is Matron Casp."

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor introduced himself "That's Tyra."

The nurse sniffed at him "I think you'll find that we're the doctors here."

Sister Jatt hurried up to us "Matron Casp, you're needed in Intensive Care."

Casp tensed "If you would excuse me." I inhaled a little and wrinkled my nose… They smelt wrong…

"It's happened again. One of the patients is conscious," I heard Jatt whisper.

Matron Casp tutted "Oh, we can't have that…"

I grasped the Time Lord's arm and pulled him away "There's something wrong here," I told him quietly "What the hell are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"Well, there's Rose for one. You can't tell me you didn't notice how she behaved on the phone… And then there's that." I pointed in the direction where the nurses vanished a minute ago "They are obviously keeping something from the people of New Earth." It probably had something to do with Intensive Care. For some reason, I felt that it didn't mean what it did five billion years ago.

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully "Look at this," he pointed to a person who was floating in midair. He looked up at Rose when she joined us "There you are. Come and look at this patient. Marconi's Disease. Should take years to recover. Two days. I've never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell washing cascade. It's amazing. Their medical science is way advanced. And this one." The Time Lord pulled us to another cubicle "Pallidome Pancrosis. Kills you in ten minutes and he's fine. I need to find a terminal. I've got to see how they do this. Because if they've got the best medicine in the world, then why is it such a secret?"

Rose threw him an annoyed look "I can't Adam and Eve it."

"What's – What's – What's with the voice?" the Doctor stuttered, frowning at the blonde.

"Oh, I don't know," she waved off "Just larking about. New Earth, new me."

The Doctor snorted "Well, I can talk. New New Doctor." I rolled my eyes at him. How was he constantly ignoring the actual problems? It was so obvious that this wasn't really Rose… But maybe it was just obvious to me since Niklaus did the whole body-snatching before.

"Mm," Rose smirked, looking the Doctor up and down appreciatively "Aren't you just?" She grabbed the Doctor and pulled him down into a long and hard kiss "Terminal's this way."

The Time Lord looked at me with big eyes and looked after Rose "What just happened?"

"You got kissed by whoever or whatever is inside Rose," I pointed out, a spark of mischief in my eyes "You're face though."

"How do you know about possession?" the Doctor frowned "That technology wasn't around in your time."

I smiled mysteriously, not really up to telling him anything… Not here at least "Let's go and see what not-Rose is up to."

We found her in the waiting room where a computer terminal was located by the elevator "Nope," the Doctor shook his head after sonicking the terminal "Nothing odd. Surgery, post-op, nano-dentistry. No sign of a shop. They should have a shop."

"No, it's missing something else," not-Rose pointed out.

I hummed "You're talking about Intensive Care, right? The cat-nun-nurses mentioned it earlier. Something about a patient being awake or something. It was weird."

"You're both right," the Doctor nodded, narrowing his eyes on Rose.

"Why would they hide a whole department?" not-Rose tilted her head "It's got to be there somewhere. Search the sub-frame."

The Time Lord blinked "What if the sub-frame is locked?"

"Try the installation protocol." Okay, I doubted that Rose would actually know this piece of information. Hell, I wasn't even sure what that meant.

"Yeah… Of course. Sorry, hold on," the Doctor murmured, using his sonic on the interface, causing the whole wall to slide down to reveal a corridor "Intensive Care. Certainly looks intensive." I had to agree with them there. Not only that but it explained where the smell of sickness and death on the nurse's clothes had come from.

Rose lead us down an old-fashioned staircase to a corridor that was completely lined with cells. The Doctor opened a random one that contained a very sick-looking man "That's disgusting," not-Rose grimaced "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor breathed "I'm so sorry." He closed the door and moved on to the next. It was the exact same picture, only a woman this time.

"What disease is that?"

The Time Lord closed his eyes and pulled me a little closer "All of them. Every single disease in the galaxy. They've been infected with everything."

"What about us?" not-Rose demanded worriedly "Are we safe?"

"The air is sterile," he nodded, emotionlessly, closing the door again "Just don't touch them."

Not-Rose looked around with wide eyes "How many patients are there?"

"I don't think they're patients," I murmured.

"But they're sick," the blonde exclaimed.

The Doctor gritted his teeth "They were born sick. They're meant to be sick. They exist to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm."

"Why don't they just die?"

"Plague carriers," the Time Lord pointed out "The last to go."

I turned to see Novice Hame walk up to us "It's for the greater cause."

"Novice Hame," the Doctor spat "When you took your vows, did you agree to this?"

"The Sisterhood has sworn to help," she pointed out.

I shuddered "By killing people?"

"They're not real people," the cat-nun-nurse argued "They're specially grown. They have no proper existence."

"They have emotions, a heartbeat…" I frowned "Blood running through their veins. They are as real as me or the people you have out there."

The Doctor put a hand on my shoulder "What's the turnover, hmm? Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years? How many!"

Hame looked at the grating of the floor "Mankind needed us. They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow, so the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh."

I looked at her with a small glare "These people are alive. They feel and breathe… You might not believe it but they are alive."

"But think of those Humans out there, healthy and happy, because of us."

The Doctor stared at her unimpressed "If they live because of this, then life is worthless."

"But who are you to decide that?" the cat nurse demanded.

"I'm the Doctor," he shrugged "And if you don't like it, if you want to take it to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with me."

Not-Rose took a step forward "Just to confirm. None of the humans in the city actually know about this?"

"We thought it best not," Hame murmured.

The Doctor held up his hand, looking from Rose to the nurse and back "Hold on. I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. One thing I can't understand. What have you done to Rose?"

Hame frowned in confusion "I don't know what you mean."

"And I'm being very, very calm," the Time Lord continued with forced calm "You want to be aware of that. Very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is that the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Rose's head, I want it reversed."

"We haven't done anything," Novice Hame told us, shaking her head.

I looked at Rose closely "I think she's telling the truth, Doctor. Whoever is in that head of hers wasn't put in there by them."

"I'm perfectly fine," the blonde smiled, ignoring me completely.

The Doctor snarled at her "These people are dying, and Rose would care."

Not-Rose rolled her eyes, stalking towards the Time Lord "Oh, all right, clever clogs. Smarty pants. Lady-killer." She tugged at his tie.

"What's happened to you?" the Doctor questioned quietly.

"I knew something was going on in this hospital," the blonde admitted "But I needed this body and your mind to find it out."

"Who are you?" I asked, sliding myself in front of the Doctor.

"The last human," not-Rose whispered.

The Doctor's eyes widened "Cassandra?"

She smirked "Wake up and smell the perfume." Cassandra squirts the vial at me, causing me to cough at the smell. I didn't feel faint, it just caused me to retch. She did the same to the Doctor who immediately passed out.

"You've hurt him," Hame breathed in shock "I don't understand. I'll have to fetch Matron."

Cassandra raised her eyebrow "You do that because I want to see her. Now, run along. Sound the alarm." She pulled on a power cable and set off the alarm.

I pulled myself together, trying to stop her from putting the Doctor into one of the cells "What the hell are you doing, Cassandra?"

"I remember you," she murmured, looking at me with a predatory glance in her eyes "Maybe I should take you as a body… You're certainly better looking than Rose Tyler here."

A cloud escaped from Rose, speeding towards me. I stumbled back, hitting my back against the railing. When Cassandra was back in Rose's body again, she lunged forward with a snarl, pushing me back some more. I didn't expect her to react that violently, so I hit the railing hard enough for me to flip over the top when the blonde pushed a second time. I reached out to hold onto one of the railings I passed but I hit the floor hard before everything went black.

**Third Person PoV**

The Doctor woke up in a cell "Let me out," he shouted, banging on the locked door "Let me out."

"Aren't you lucky there was a spare?" Cassandra smirked from her place in the corridor "Standing room only."

"You've stolen Rose's body," the Time Lord hissed. He couldn't hear Tyra anywhere but he assumed that she was just in another cell even though Cassandra didn't really say anything on that matter.

Cassandra hummed "Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor. And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You've got about three minutes left. Enjoy."

She was about to walk away towards the end of the corridor when the Doctor started pleading with her "Just let Rose go, Cassandra."

"I will. As soon as I've found someone younger and less common," the last Human told him "I did try for that other kid of yours… Oh well, hushaby now. It's show time."

Sister Jatt approached the blonde girl with the Matron and two other nurses "Anything we can do to help?"

"Straight to the point, Whiskers," Cassandra snorted "I want money."

"The Sisterhood is a charity," Matron Casp rolled her eyes "We don't give money. We only accept."

Cassandra raised her eyebrow "The humans across the water pay you a fortune and that's exactly what I need. A one-off payment, that's all I want. Oh, and perhaps a yacht. In return for which, I shall tell the city nothing of your institutional murder. Is that a deal?"

Casp shook her head "I'm afraid not."

The blonde human crossed her arms "I'd really advise you to think about this."

"Oh, there's no need. I have to decline," one of the cat-nun-nurses replied.

"I'll tell them," Cassandra threatened "And you've got no way of stopping me. You're not exactly Nuns with Guns. You're not even armed."

The Matron smiled "Who needs arms when we have claws?" She unsheathed her claws.

Cassandra took several steps back "Well, nice try. Chip?" she called to the man who had been standing behind her for a while "Plan B." Chip pulled a lever, causing all of the doors on that level to open.

"What have you done?" the Doctor gasped, stumbling out along with a lot of dazed, diseased people.

"Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up," Cassandra shrugged "See you."

The Time Lord darted after her but not before looking for Tyra. Where was she? She hadn't been in a cell, otherwise, she would have come out as well… "Where's Tyra? What did you do to her?" he hissed at Cassandra, grabbing her arm.

"That kid of yours? She's probably dead by now," the blonde waved off dismissively.

"What?" the Doctor shouted "What did you do?" At the same time, one of the diseased men put his hand into a socket, electrocuting himself. The electrocution caused all the locks of the cell doors to blow, freeing everybody inside.

Cassandra shuddered, watching Sister Jatt die screaming on the catwalk across from them "Oh, my God."

"What the hell have you done?" the Time Lord groaned.

"It wasn't me," the blonde held up her hands.

The Doctor shook her harshly "One touch and you get every disease in the world and I want that body safe, Cassandra. Her and Tyra… Where is she?" When Cassandra looked over the railings he glared at her "We've got to go down."

Cassandra shook her head "But there are thousands of them."

"Run!" he called when the patients got closer to him "Down! Down! Go down." They got down several levels, getting closer to the basement "Keep going. Go down." Once he reached the bottom, he froze. There, in the middle of the floor was a dead Tyra… She still looked to be completely out of it and while Cassandra ran to the lift, the Doctor knelt down next to his friend "Tyra." He ran his hand over the vampire's face and looked around at Cassandra "No, the lifts have closed down. That's the quarantine. Nothing is moving."

Cassandra's eyes darted from one direction to the other "This way." The Doctor quickly picked up Tyra, running after Cassandra. On their way there, Chip got cut off by more people approaching "Leave him," the blonde snapped when the Doctor stopped "He's just a clone thing. He's only got a half-life. Come on."

The Time Lord glanced down at Tyra who had started moving a little and then up at Chip "I'm sorry, I can't let her escape."

**Tyra PoV**

I raised my hand to my pounding head and blinked my eyes open "Doctor?" I asked, seeing the man I was leaning against "What…?"

He was about to answer when Rose's voice interrupted "We're trapped. What am I going to do?"

"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body," the Doctor pointed out, helping me to stand up. I was still a little shaky and my head was hurting but other than that, I was pretty much fine for someone who had just died "The psychograft is banned on every civilized planet. You're compressing Rose to death."

"But I've got nowhere to go," Cassandra pouted "My original skin is dead."

The Time Lord shrugged "Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out. Give her back."

Cassandra smirked "You asked for it." She took a deep breath and blew the energy towards the Doctor.

"Blimey," Rose groaned "My head… Where did she go?"

I pointed to the Doctor who had let go of me as soon as Cassandra took him over "She's in him."

"Oh, my," the last Human laughed "This is different… Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum. So many parts and hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts. Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba."

Rose lunged forward "Get out of him."

"Ooh, he's slim," Cassandra teased, winking at the blonde "And a little bit foxy. You've thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking. You like it." I raised my eyebrow at Rose. While she hadn't been very subtle, I didn't expect her to be this into the Doctor. In that moment, diseased people burst through the door "What do we do?" Cassandra flitted around panicked "What would he do? The Doctor, what the hell would he do?"

"Ladder," I pointed out, jumping onto the fifth sprung, the other two following "We should try to get up. Hurry."

"Out of the way, blondie," Cassandra snapped, pushing Rose to the side.

I looked down for a moment, making sure that Rose was still on the ladder. One of the women reached out her arms with tears in her eyes "Please, help us. Help."

"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something," Rose called up to the last Human.

Cassandra rolled her eyes "Yap, yap, yap. God, it was tedious inside your head. Hormone city."

"We're going to die if…" Rose broke off, shaking her leg "Get off." Matron Casp had a tight grip on the blonde's ankle.

"All out good work," the cat hissed "All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything."

Cassandra inside the Doctor's body snorted "Go and play with a ball of string."

"Everywhere, disease. This is the human world. Sickness." A diseased arm reached up and grasped Casp's ankle. She let go of Rose, falling with a loud scream.

"Move," Rose shouted, quickly climbing after us.

' _Maximum quarantine. Divert all shuttles,'_ the tannoy said. The doors on the level I was on right now closed right in my face.

"Now what do we do?" Cassandra demanded. I reached down to dig in the Doctor's inside pocket "What the hell are you doing?"

I showed her the sonic, I had just pulled out and flicked through the settings "I don't know which setting," I called down to Rose.

"Cassandra, go back into me," the blonde pleaded "The Doctor can open it. Do it."

"Hold tight," Cassandra sighed, transferring back into Rose "Oh, chavtastic again. Open it."

The Doctor shook his head "Not till you get out of her."

"Doctor, which setting do I need?" I questioned, looking down at him.

Cassandra nodded in my direction "We need the Doctor."

"I order you to leave her," he commanded.

I rolled my eyes when Cassandra transferred into the Time Lord "Cassandra, just go into one of the patients. Please? This will only go back and forth all the fucking time."

"Oh, I'm so going to regret this…" The last Human transferred to the lead woman on the ladder below Rose and looked at her arms "Oh, sweet Lord. I look disgusting."

The Doctor climbed up the ladder to the height I was on and took the sonic from me. He quickly opened the elevator doors and helped me through "Nice to have you back," he grinned at Rose after helping her. The doors were about to close when the energy made it through and into Rose just in time "That was your last warning, Cassandra."

Cassandra was leaning against the wall of the elevator with a blank look on her face "Inside her head… They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us. All their lives and they've never been touched." The Doctor and I exchanged a look before he offered her his hand, the other arm wrapping around my shoulders when I leaned a bit closer. The running hadn't really helped my headache at all.

As soon as we entered Ward 26, Frau Clovis lunged at us with a metal stand. The Doctor held up his hands "We're safe! We're safe! We're safe! We're clean! We're clean! Look, look."

"Show me your skin," the woman demanded.

He showed her his hands, Cassandra doing it as well. When I just leaned closer to the Doctor, he grasped my hand, holing it up for the other woman to see "Look, clean. Look, if we'd been touched, we'd be dead. So how's it going up here? What's the status?"

Clovis shook her head "There's nothing but silence from the other wards. I think we're the only ones left. And I've been trying to override the quarantine. If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad."

"You can't do that," the Doctor exclaimed "If they forced entry, they'd break quarantine."

The woman sniffed "I am not dying in here."

"We can't let a single particle of disease get out. There are ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk. Now, turn that off!" he threatened.

Clovis huffed "Not if it gets me out."

"All right, fine," the Time Lord rolled his eyes "So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me. Rose, Novice Hame, everyone! Excuse me, your Grace. Get me intravenous solutions for every single disease. Move it!" Everyone grabbed drip bags while the Doctor brought me over to the Face of Boe's tank. He then grabbed a silk rope, tying it across his chest "How's that? Will that do?"

"I don't know," Cassandra shrugged "Will it do for what?"

"Ty, you're staying here, alright?" the Time Lord called over his shoulder, running towards the elevator "I'll be back soon."

"Be careful," I shouted after him and leaned my head against the coolness of the tank with a sigh. At least that soothed my pounding head a little.

' _It is good to see you again, old friend._ ' The voice inside my head startled me enough to accidentally bang my head against a desk behind me.

"Fuck," I cursed and glared at the chuckling head "I have a headache already. Was that really necessary?"

' _What happened?_ ' the Face of Boe questioned, looking at me curiously ' _You were fine earlier._ '

I snorted "Of course, you were awake before. Why would I have ever thought differently… Remember the 'last Human'? She took over Rose's body and shoved me over a railing in the ICU," I explained "Trust me, falling down several levels, getting splattered on the floor isn't as fun as it sounds."

' _Trust me, I know,_ ' Boe murmured ' _I definitely know how that feels…_ '

"Okay, then," I sighed, leaning back against the tank "You don't mind, do you? My head is killing me right now and I doubt anyone would appreciate me feeding right now."

' _I don't mind at all. How have you been since we last saw each other?_ ' Boe questioned.

I raised a shoulder "Not too bad… Since the Doctor – Well, since he changed I don't feel as left out. I'm not sure if that will stay like this or not. Rose still doesn't like me very much…" I stopped and frowned "Why am I telling you all of that?"

' _Maybe you just need someone to understand…_ _Someone who isn't around you normally,_ ' Boe pointed out.

I hummed "Yeah, maybe. I never did ask. How do you know me and the Doctor? You said that we were old friends but I don't know you."

' _I think… I think the solution is closer than you think, little Warrior._ ' I blinked at him. Warrior? That kinda reminded me of… Jack? No, it couldn't be, right? I mean, Jack died on the Gamestation. There's no way that the Face of Boe actually was my pseudo-brother, right?

"I –"

Boe cut me off ' _Don't worry about the solution. It will show itself some day… Listen, little Warrior. There is something that you must know.'_ He paused for a moment, obviously steeling himself ' _I'm really, really sorry but your greatest fear will be returning._ '

"My greatest fear? What do you mean by that?" I tilted my head. By now all of the people who had been in the Ward left except for us.

"The Face of Boe," the Doctor exclaimed, coming towards the tank.

I got up from the floor, hugging him lightly "Ew. Why are you wet?"

"I cured them, Ty," the Time Lord grinned, whirling me around once. I stumbled, righting myself as soon as he let me go. He turned to the tank and his expression morphed into exasperation "You were supposed to be dying."

' _There are better things to do today,_ ' Boe teased ' _Dying can wait._ '

Cassandra groaned from somewhere behind me "Oh, I hate telepathy. Just what I need, a head full of big face."

"Shh," the Doctor shushed her with a glare.

' _I have grown tired with this universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew._ '

The Time Lord crouched down "There are legends, you know, saying that you're millions of years old."

' _There are?_ ' A wicked smirk flashed through my mind, causing me to grin at the huge face ' _That would be impossible._ '

"Wouldn't it just," the Doctor agreed "I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

Boe nodded ' _A great secret._ '

The Time Lord shifted giddily "So legend says."

' _It can wait._ '

"Oh, does it have to?" the Doctor pouted.

I hit him on the shoulder "Better be glad. That means that he isn't dying yet."

' _We shall meet again, Doctor, little Warrior, for the third time, for the last time. And the truth shall be told. Until that day…_ ' With that said, Boe beamed away.

The Doctor gaped at the space the tank had been in a minute ago "That is enigmatic. That, that is, that is textbook enigmatic." He shook his head and whirled around "And now for you."

"But everything is happy," Cassandra pointed out "Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?"

"You've lived long enough," the Doctor decided "Leave that body and end it, Cassandra."

Cassandra started sobbing "I don't want to die."

"I do," I murmured, my mind immediately going back to Henrik again "Sometimes death is but the next great adventure, Cassandra. Don't think of it as an ending. Think of it as a new beginning. You're not trapped in a world that forgot you."

She looked at me "How did you survive the fall?"

"Through a series of unfortunate happenings," I shrugged "Nothing I wanted to happen but now I don't have a choice but to live." I looked at the Doctor with a thankful smile "At least now I have a purpose…"

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind "And don't you forget it."

"Mistress," Chip called, hurrying up to us.

Cassandra turned away from me "Oh, you're alive."

"I kept myself safe for you, mistress" the man sniffled.

"A body," the last Human realized "And not just that, a volunteer."

The Doctor pointed at her "Don't you dare. He's got a life of his own."

"But I worship the mistress," Chip exclaimed "I welcome her."

I stood back from them when Cassandra transferred into Chip, causing Rose to collapse into the Doctor's arms "Oh… You alright? Whoa. Okay?"

"Yeah," Rose panted, looking up at the Doctor with a happy gleam in her eyes "Yeah. Hello."

"Hello," the Time Lord nodded, letting go of the blonde "Welcome back."

Cassandra stepped between them, looking at her arms "Oh, sweet Lord. I'm a walking doodle."

"You can't stay in there. I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city," the Doctor offered "They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."

Cassandra considered it for a moment "Well, that would be rather dramatic. Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat, but I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he's been through so much. His heart is racing so. He's failing. I don't think he's going to last…" She fell to her knees in pain.

"Are you all right?" the Doctor questioned.

Cassandra shook her head with a smile "I'm fine. I'm dying, but that's fine."

"I can take you to the city."

"No, you won't," the last Human whispered "Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me anymore. You're right, Doctor. It's time to die, and that's good."

"Come on," the Doctor waved "There's one last thing I can do."

I steadied Cassandra on the walk back to the Tardis, following behind the Doctor and Rose "Thank you," the last Human murmured, looking over at me.

"For what?" I asked.

"For saying what you did earlier," she shrugged "People do have it worse than me and I forget that… So thank you for reminding me that death isn't necessarily something you have to be scared of."

I sighed "You're welcome."

She stumbled over her own feet "Where do you think the Doctor is taking me?"

"I honestly don't know," I shook my head "But he's a good man, you'll see." Inside the Tardis, I sat her on the jump seat and excused myself.

**Third Person PoV**

After the Doctor dropped Cassandra off in her personal past, he and Rose returned to the Tardis "Rose? Remember what I told you yesterday?"

"What?" the blonde blinked, turning around to face him.

The Time Lord raised an eyebrow at her "Have you apologized to Tyra yet?"

"Er… No, not yet," she shrugged.

"How about you do it now then?" the Doctor crossed his arms.

Rose shook her head "Tyra isn't here right now and I'm tired… I did have Cassandra stuck in my mind most of the day."

The Doctor sighed "Fine. I'm going to let it go one more time… But you are going to apologize to her, Rose."

"Yes, yes," the blonde waved off, stepping closer to the Time Lord "So… Wanna watch a movie with me?"

"Sorry, Rose. I still have some things to fix," the Time Lord blocked. He wasn't sure why it was making him uncomfortable… Maybe he just didn't feel anything for Rose – Not in that way at least. The kiss he got from Cassandra weirded him out more than he would have thought…


	4. Tooth and Claw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You better appreciate this chapter xD It is waaaaay longer than I thought it would be. I really hope that I could put in the feelings I wanted to... Since it would be an emotional Episode for Tyra...
> 
> Anyway, please tell me what you think... I always enjoy Reviews.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

After we dropped of Cassandra, Rose immediately vanished to her room to change or something, while I looked at the outfit I found in the wardrobe a while back. I had never gotten the chance to wear it and I really liked it, so I thought I'd test it out. I was wearing a black suit with a white blouse and a narrow black tie. As a jacket, I had grabbed a black trench coat that reached the middle of my thigh. All in all, I really liked it.

"What do you think of this?" Rose asked, twirling around in a denim mini-dungaree "Will it do?"

The Doctor glanced at her for a moment "In the late 1970s? You'd be better off in a bin bag. Hold on…" He grabbed a CD from underneath the console and put it into a CD player "Listen to this. Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979." I raised my eyebrow at the loud music that was just a tad too loud for my taste and snorted when Rose accused the Doctor of being a punk. Well, she wasn't wrong there. The Time Lord started bobbing his head, walking around the Tardis happily "It's good to be a lunatic."

"Rose is right," I sighed, getting up from my position to join him at the console. I poked him in the side "You definitely are a punk."

"Would you like to see him?" the Doctor asked us.

Rose blinked "How do you mean? In concert?"

"What else is the Tardis for?" he questioned, spreading out his arms in a grand gesture "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the first anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon or Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November 1979. What do you think?"

"Sheffield it is," the blonde nodded.

The Doctor turned to me and tilted his head "I never really liked Ian Dury much but if you want to see him, we can go."

"You didn't like…" the Doctor trailed off and shook his head violently "Never mind. Hold on tight." He dug out his trusted hammer… I thought that he would have finally given up on hitting the Tardis but I guess I was wrong…

Rose and I held on for dear life and the blonde shouted "Stop." As soon as she said it, we stopped and were thrown to the ground harshly. The landing would probably never get better either…

"1979," the Doctor cheered "Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Love that film." He grabbed his coat, shrugging it on while making his way towards the door "Margaret Thatcher. Urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb." The Doctor walked out of the door, head turned back to us "And I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to…" Rifles were cocked and he trailed off "My thumb."

I looked at the Redcoats that surrounded us and hit the Doctor's shoulder "1879… Are you trying to get us killed?"

The man on the horse was the one who spoke up "You will explain your presence and the nakedness of this girl." For the last words he nodded at Rose and I sighed internally. Thankfully, I decided to wear the suit. Better to be frowned upon for wearing men's clothing than to be seen as naked. Ever since they invented corsets, I preferred wearing pants instead of the dresses that would suffocate you every time you wore them.

"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor questioned with the most natural sounding Scottish accent you could imagine.

"How can you be ignorant of that?"

The Time Lord winced "Oh, I'm – I'm dazed and confused." He gestured to me "We've been chasing this – this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that right, ya timorous beastie?"

Rose looked from the soldier to the Doctor "Och, aye! I've been oot and aboot."

I leaned forward to stare at her from the Doctor's other side "Are you actually serious right now?"

"Hoots mon," she continued jokingly.

"No, really… Don't. Really," the Doctor grimaced quietly.

The soldier had been watching our interaction silently for a moment "Will you identify yourself, sir?"

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. I have my credentials, if I may," the Doctor explained, gesturing to his pocket. After he got a nod, he fished out the psychic paper and flashed it at all the soldiers surrounding us "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

An upper-class English accent that was more than familiar carried towards us from a carriage nearby "Let them approach."

"I don't think that's wise, ma'am," the man on the horse replied.

"Let them approach," the voice repeated firmly.

The Captain sighed "You will approach the carriage and show all due deference." As soon as we got closer, a footman opened the door to reveal a familiar person.

"Rose, Tyra, might I introduce her Majesty, Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith," the Doctor smiled softly.

Rose curtsied clumsily "Rose Tyler, ma'am. And my apologies for being so naked."

"I've had five daughters," the Queen waved off "It's nothing to me. Although it is good to see a familiar face once more. Lady Tyra. I haven't seen you in a while. How have you fared?"

"Your Majesty," I curtsied gracefully the years of manners still deeply ingrained in my mind. Whenever any of us didn't behave the way we should, Elijah turned into the manner monster. He was pretty strict about all of that jazz after we lied our way into being nobility "I have been well, thank you."

The Doctor looked at me in surprised disbelief "You know Queen Victoria personally? Why did you never tell me?"

I shrugged with a smirk "It never came up. Although, I have mentioned that my brothers and I were nobility."

"Still dressing like a man, I see," the Queen pointed out, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"As if you ever expect that aspect to change, ma'am," I shot back with a small grin. I really did like the older woman. For a royal she was pretty nice and was one of the few who treated me like an adult even after finding out what I was. I had been in England with Kol when I came across a former friend of Prince Edward about to kill the young man. It was betrayal of the worst kind, since Edward told me that he had been friends with that person for years before that "How is Edward doing, your Majesty?"

"My son is doing well. His wife bore him five children. I believe that he looks forward to seeing you once more, Lady Mikaelson." With that Queen Victoria turned back to the Doctor "But you, Doctor. Show me these credentials." The Time Lord handed her the psychic paper "Why didn't you say so immediately? It stated clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector," she lied.

"Does it?" the Doctor frowned in surprise "Yes, it does. Good. Good. Then let me ask – why is your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

The Queen looked unimpressed at the man in front of her "A tree on the line."

"An accident?"

"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned," Victoria replied, leaning back on her seat.

I nodded "Another assassination attempt, ma'am? What does that make now? Number five? Six?"

"What, seriously?" Rose blinked "There's people out to kill you?" I winced at her tone and was surprised that the blonde would talk to a royal like that. Would it kill her to at least try and be more respectful?

Queen Victoria seemed to think something similar to what went through my mind. Her tone was sharp when she replied "I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun."

It was then that the Captain spoke up from behind us "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"The Doctor and his timorous beastie will come with us," the Queen decided, sending me another small smile "Would you like to join me, Lady Mikaelson?"

"Ma'am," the Captain cut in.

She sent him a sharp look "Captain Reynolds, Lady Mikaelson is a dear friend to my family."

"Your Majesty," the man bowed his head.

"Are you going to be fine?" I questioned the Doctor, tilting my head up.

He raised an eyebrow "You will have to tell me the story behind this sometime. We're also going to have to talk about what you said to Cassandra now that I think about it," the Time Lord hummed "Go ahead. Rose and I will be fine."

"Thank you," I smiled, climbing into the carriage to sit across from the Queen. The footman closed the door behind me and soon we were moving again.

Queen Victoria looked at me "It has been a while since we last spoke."

"Indeed," I sighed "I apologize for not contacting you, your Majesty. It has been eventful years since I rejoined my siblings in New Orleans."

"Nonsense," she waved her hand "Although it is a pleasant surprise to see you again, Tyra."

I inclined my head "Thank you, ma'am. I must admit that I have wondered what became of your son. From what I hear he seems to be doing well for himself."

"I believe that he is. Might I ask… How come you are in the company of such – strange individuals?"

"Strange individuals, ma'am?" I quirked a smile at her words "The Doctor and I are merely friends. We have been traveling together for a short amount of time already."

The Queen hummed "And the naked child?"

"You will have to apologize Rose, your Majesty," I told her, trying not to be too rude about the other girl "Her upbringing differed from my own. I believe that she has not had the chance to learn how to be respectful of those in power."

"Very well," she nodded "How does traveling become you, my dear?"

I let out a happy smile "I love it," I sighed "There have been situations that were difficult but I enjoy learning new things about the world we live in."

"You certainly sound happier than you seemed the last time I saw you before you went back to your family," Queen Victoria noted "You seemed… caged in a way."

"My family, ma'am…" I started and tugged at my hair "My brothers have different ideals of what is acceptable and what is not. I believe it is these differences that have separated us recently."

Queen Victoria leaned forward a little "Do not let your differences stop you from being with your family. Believe me when I say that it can be over before it's time."

"You are speaking of Prince Albert," I murmured "I'm sorry. He was a good man and a good father to your children. I wish I could have seen him once more."

"Thank you," the Queen smiled sadly "In the four years you have stayed, Albert and myself… We enjoyed your company and we are thankful for what you did to help us."

I blinked back the tears "This is turning out to be more emotional than I thought," I muttered, rubbing at my eyes embarrassedly.

Queen Victoria's lips quirked into a grin "You have not changed since I saw you last," she told me.

"Suddenly, I'm not sure whether that is a good thing," I snorted. It was surprisingly hard to keep talking in the old fashioned way after not having to talk like it in over a century.

We fell silent for the rest of the carriage ride. I kept glancing out of the window at the landscape and had to smile. This was still the Earth without cars or planes… I used to love being outside whenever I could. It beat being anywhere close to my parents.

Once we finally reached the Torchwood Estate, I stepped out of the carriage after the footman helped the Queen out and stretched. Who knew that sitting in a carriage for a few hours could get this uncomfortable? Alright, I did know but… I might have forgotten.

"Your Majesty," Sir Robert bowed to Queen Victoria, walking out of the house.

"Sir Robert," the Queen greeted "My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"

I joined the Doctor and Rose by the side of the events and narrowed my eyes on the man when he started stuttering "She's indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame your Majesty if you wanted to ride on."

"That surprisingly sounds like an excuse," a familiar voice sounded from the doorway of the Torchwood House.

I whirled around and groaned "This day just keeps getting better and better." I punched the Doctor's arm in annoyance "I hate you so much right now."

"Who is he?" Rose whispered, looking over at my older brother with appreciation.

The Doctor frowned "Isn't that…"

"Yes," I nodded, cutting him off "It is."

Rose looked from the Doctor to me and back to my older brother "No, seriously. Who is he?"

"Hello, Tyra," Niklaus greeted with a smirk, walking past the group of soldiers after giving a short bow to the Queen. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the people around us "What are you doing here, sister?"

I glared at him lightly "I have some business to take care of here."

"You didn't mention it before," Nik pointed out, looking over my shoulder at the two people I had arrived with "Who are they?"

"Is it your business?" I snapped "No, I don't think so."

The Doctor caught my eye and I shrugged. I looked over at the Queen when she raised her voice a little "It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside? And please excuse the naked girl."

"Sorry," Rose grimaced in embarrassment.

"She's a feral child," the Doctor cut in. I snorted quietly, lowering my head to hide the grin "I bought her for six pence in old London Town. It was her or the Elephant Man, so…"

Rose rolled her eyes "Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused. What do you think, Ma'am?"

"It hardly matters," Queen Victoria waved off, her annoyance at the blonde already getting obvious "Shall we proceed?"

After she turned around to walk inside, Rose leaned up, whispering into the Doctor's ear "So close."

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed, walking over at them "Queen Victoria is not a person to mess with for your own amusement. Believe me, I'd know…"

"Relax," Rose rolled her eyes "I know what I'm doing."

I glared at her "Yeah? I'll believe that once I see it."

"Calm down," the Doctor soothed "Both of you. It's fine, Ty."

I huffed "Fine. I warned you." With that I skirted past the guards and the servants into the house. I really wasn't in the mood for their games at the moment. They wouldn't end well and I knew it… I believe the Doctor knew it as well but… He didn't seem to care.

"Who are they, Tyra?" Niklaus asked, easily keeping up with me while we followed the Queen and Sir Robert to another part of the house.

"The man is the Doctor and the blonde is Rose. Happy now?"

"When did you meet them?" my brother interrogated.

I bared my teeth at him, still very much pissed at him because I could remember something now. Back the first time around I had stayed in New Orleans with Elijah and Rebekah when Nik left. After he came back he immediately daggered me and I had no idea why. I always thought it was because I tried to undagger Kol and Finn… That he found out that I had tried to wake our brothers… I still didn't know whether that was the actual reason. But maybe I would find out soon. I imagined it had something to do with this adventure here "None of your business, Niklaus. I might be your sister but you don't dictate my life."

"No?" He narrowed his eyes at me, his hand catching my shoulder in a harsh grip. The older Original pulled me in the shadows and pulled something out of his pocket "I believe it is me who holds this."

I flinched when he placed the silver dagger under my chin mockingly "Why do you have that with you?" I breathed.

"Ty?" the Doctor called out quietly, his eyes on the dagger in my brother's hand. He looked as if he was about to interfere "Is everything alright?"

"It's fine," I told him with a small smile "My brother is just being himself. Nothing new there."

We were ripped out of our quiet conversation when the Queen started marveling at the massive bronze telescope in the middle of the room "This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour."

Sir Robert nodded, glancing at my brother and me curiously "All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."

"I wish I'd met him," the Doctor breathed in awe "I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I?"

"Help yourself," Sir Robert gestured. I ripped myself out of my brother's grip and walked over to the Doctor, throwing a glare over my shoulder.

The Doctor studied the telescope curiously "What did he model it on?"

"I know nothing about it," Sir Robert shook his head "To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories."

I looked through the telescope and looked back at the Doctor who took my place. He frowned "It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of…" He broke off and leaned towards me "Am I being rude again?"

I patted his shoulder and nodded with a small grin "Yes. You're being very rude."

"But it's pretty. It's very pretty," he winced.

"That didn't necessarily help, Doc" I muttered, rubbing at my temples. Oh, I could see the other two time travelers getting into trouble with the Queen simply for being who they were…

The Queen threw the Doctor a look that said so much "And the imagination of it should be applauded."

"Hm," Rose murmured, looking at Queen Victoria slyly "Thought you might disapprove, your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused or something? No?"

I raised my hand to my face, shaking my head when I saw Nik blinking at the blonde girl "This device surveys the infinite work of God," the Queen pointed out "What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales."

"Stars and magic," the Doctor grinned "I like him more and more."

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," the Queen mentioned with a sad smile. I closed my eyes, thinking about Prince Albert and what happened the last time I saw him. It was without Queen Victoria there, so she probably wouldn't know but the man actually tried to adopt me. I told them a little about my family because they were curious and Albert was appalled at what my parents did to us and what my siblings turned into after a few centuries. His rants were quite amusing to be honest "Prince Albert was acquainted with many rural superstitions…" Here she sent me a quick smile before turning serious again "Coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

"That's Bavaria," the Time Lord breathed into Rose's ear.

"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported," the Queen pointed out, looking at Sir Robert.

I stiffened when she mentioned a wolf. Please, let it just be a story… I had stayed away from werewolves since that night… I really didn't want to be near another one of them. Never again. The Doctor perked up though "So, what's this wolf, then?"

"It's just a story," Sir Robert smiled nervously. For a short moment, he glanced at the bald servant who was standing behind him.

I tilted my head, getting slightly nervous "If it's just a story then tell it."

Robert inhaled deeply "It's said that…"

"Excuse me, sir," the servant cut in smoothly "Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

"Of course," Sir Robert nodded quickly "Yes, of course."

The Queen perked up at the mention of rest and I couldn't blame her. She would have been inside that carriage for the better part of the day "And then supper. And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness."

"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose questioned pointedly.

I glared at her "Would you give it a rest?" I hissed.

"Sir Robert," Queen Victoria continued as if Rose hadn't spoken "Your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight."

Sir Robert swallowed heavily as if dreading the moon "So there is, ma'am."

We parted ways in the corridor with Rose being lead towards the closet that was close to the master bedroom, while the Doctor wandered around. Nik had pulled me into a room in the guest corridor, telling me that we had to talk "Are you alright?" he questioned gently, sitting down next to me. This was the big brother that I missed so much. When he was being Nik, he was the person I knew back when we were human. It was when he decided to be Klaus that I ran most of the time. Klaus loved to dagger us and was the 'evil' Hybrid, while Nik was my older brother. Oh, who was I trying to kid? I loved him anyway. It didn't matter what he did… What Elijah did or Rebekah. They were still my siblings. The only people I did renounce were my parents.

I shrugged "I think so… Do you really think that there's a werewolf around?"

"I don't know," Nik shrugged "Why?"

"I just…" I trailed of, biting my lip nervously. Should I tell him? I really wasn't sure whether he would take it well. Plus, I had never told any of my siblings about this. They all just assumed that I was in the cave with them when Henrik and Nik were out "I'm not sure…"

Nik sighed, placing his hand on my shoulder "You can tell me, you know?"

"I lied to you," I mumbled into my older brother's chest "I lied to all of you, Nik."

He frowned "What are you talking about?"

"That night," I started, staring off into space "I woke up after you and Henrik snuck out… I felt like there was something – something's wrong."

_Flashback_

_Tyra woke up with a feeling of uneasiness. Like something was wrong. Once she noticed that neither Niklaus nor Henrik where anywhere in sight she shivered. No, they couldn't have gone out, could they? Nik would never allow Henry to actually watch the wolves turn back into men, would he? She remembered her twin saying something about wanting to see them change a while ago but she never thought that anyone would actually allow him to go. When they still hadn't returned a while later, the young girl scrambled out of the caves quietly, grabbing her father's sword on the way out. Oh, Mikael would probably kill her in the morning for taking it but at the moment she didn't care._

_The cool night air made her shiver violently. Where could they be? She followed the feeling she had, making sure to keep to the shadows and be as quiet as possible "No," she heard a voice shout. Nik… That was Nik's voice. Tyra hurried to where she heard the noises and stopped behind a tree. From there she could see a clearing where her brothers were surrounded by a couple of wolves. Nik had his own sword out, ready to defend them "Leave us alone."_

" _Nik," Henry whispered, his voice shaking in fear "I'm scared."_

" _I'll protect you, Henrik," the older of the two whispered "Just stay close to me." It was then that the wolves lunged at the two of them, causing Tyra to swallow a horrified scream. Nik fought them off as well as he could but there were too many and soon one of the werewolves had pounced on Henrik, sinking its claws into the younger boy's stomach "Henrik." Nik's voice shook and the sword fell out of his nerveless fingers. The girl hiding behind the tree fell to the ground in pain, something inside of her feeling as if it was dying. She recognized it as the part that always told her when her twin was in trouble… The part that had been screaming at her ever since she woke up. Henrik and her always had a closer bond than anyone knew. It went as far as feeling each others feelings when they were particularly loud but neither of the twins told anyone about it. They kept the secret to themselves for fear of what their father would do…_

_End Flashback_

"I saw Henrik die, Nik," I sniffled "I saw the wolves ripping into him while they left you alone…"

My older brother exhaled shakily, the topic of Henrik being one of the only things that earned a normal reaction from him anymore "You saw that? Why don't you hate me more than you do?"

"Because you're my brother, Nik," I told him "I lost my twin that night… I didn't want to lose one of my older brothers as well, no matter if we got along well or not. Always and Forever, right?"

"Always and Forever," he murmured, kissing my forehead "We should be going. Dinner is going to start soon… Are you sure that you will be alright?"

"Yes," I nodded "It's highly unlikely that there's going to be an actual werewolf… Hopefully."

"What do you mean it's not going to be an actual wolf?" Nik raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head and smirked "You wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Try me," he challenged.

"Not right now, no," I sighed.

The two of us walked into the dining room at the same time as the servant from earlier "Your companion begs an apology, Doctor. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her."

"Oh, that's alright," the Time Lord waved off. I took a seat next to him, across from Queen Victoria while Nik sat on the other side of the table across from Sir Robert "Save her a wee bit of ham."

"The feral child could probably eat it raw," the Queen joked.

The Captain started chuckling, going a little overboard with the laughing thing "Very wise, ma'am. Very witty."

"Slightly witty, perhaps," Queen Victoria murmured "I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury."

I snorted quietly, leaning over to the Doctor "Oh, burn." I quickly glanced at the servant who had his back towards us "Don't you think it's weird that Rose isn't here?"

"She's probably taking longer because she isn't used to the dresses or something. It'll be alright," the Time Lord murmured back and turned to the rest of the table "We're all waiting on Sir Robert. Come, sir. You promised us a tale of nightmares."

"Indeed," the Queen nodded empathetically "Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction."

The Doctor licked his lips and looked at her Majesty mournfully "You must miss him."

"Very much," Queen Victoria breathed "Oh, completely." She shook herself lightly, pulling up a smile "And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place."

I leaned back in my chair "Oh, I would prefer never ever to hear from that place," I whispered into my non-existent beard. Nik rolled his eyes at me but even he looked ready to agree with me. The Other Side was never a good thing. Although, since Prince Albert wasn't Supernatural, it was unlikely that he would be there.

"Come. Begin your tale, Sir Robert," the Queen urged "There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters."

Sir Robert closed his eyes for a moment and set his fork down "The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and devoured."

"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves," the Captain scoffed "Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that."

"But sometimes a child goes missing," Sir Robert argued "Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead." I exchanged a relieved look with Nik. Not a werewolf then… But some kind of wolf nevertheless. Did that mean alien? I turned my head to look at the Doctor attentively.

The Time Lord leaned forward to look around me "Are there descriptions of the creature?"

"Oh, yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings," Sir Robert nodded "And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."

The Doctor tilted his head "A werewolf?"

"That's not a werewolf," Nik huffed, crossing his arms.

I sent him a crooked grin "Are you offended?" I teased, trying to keep my thoughts off of this tale. While I was sure that it wasn't a real werewolf, it might still be a wolf and that scared me a little. I really didn't want to relive Henry's death any more than I was already thinking about it.

"My father didn't treat it as a story," Sir Robert admitted "He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose. I should have listened. His work was hindered. He made enemies. There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations."

Just then the servant at the window started chanting "Lupus Deus est. Lupus Deus est." The wolf is the God? That was slightly creepy and not suspicious at all. Nope… Not at all.

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly," the Queen murmured.

Sir Robert's eyes were trained on the servant "That's what I thought. But now I wonder. What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?"

"And what if they were with us right now?" the Doctor continued.

Queen Victoria whirled around when the chanting grew louder "What is the meaning of this?"

"Explain yourself, Sir Robert," Captain Reynolds demanded, sliding in front of the Queen.

Sir Robert sighed "I'm sorry, your Majesty, they've got my wife."

"Rose!" the Doctor exclaimed, jumping to his feet "Where's Rose? Where is she? Sir Robert, come on."

He ran out and I looked from the bald guy to where the Doctor had gone to Nik "Stay with her Majesty. I'll try to make sure the others don't die." I called out my shoulder, running after the Doctor.

I reached them just in time to see the two men breaking down the cellar door. I could hear screaming on the other side and shivered at the sound of heavy breathing from what appeared to be a wolf. I glanced around the Doctor to see Rose glaring at the Time Lord "Where the hell have you been?"

"Oh, that's beautiful," the Doctor breathed, staring at the occupant of the crate on the other side of the room.

Rose rolled her eyes, shooing all of the people around her towards the door "Come on, go. Get out."

"Out! Out. Out. Out. Out," the Doctor called when the wolf broke out of the crate. He stopped, staring at the beasts across from us in admiration for a few moments, when I pulled him through the door with me. He quickly sonicked the door and grabbed my hand, leading me to where the others were.

I stumbled at the loud howl that echoed down the hall "Why does this always happen around you?" I shivered.

The Doctor glanced down at me "Is something wrong?"

"No," I mumbled, not sure whether that was the truth or not.

He looked at me for a moment longer before he looked at the man from the cellar who was handing out guns with distaste "Arms, and you. Ready, everyone?" He turned to Lady Isobel "Take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen."

The woman shook her head and clutched her husband's hand "I can't leave you. What will you do?"

"I must defend her Majesty. Now, don't think of me, just go," Sir Robert murmured.

"All of you," Lady Isobel called to the maids "At my side. Come on."

The Doctor was removing the shackles with the sonic "It could be a form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?"

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne…" Rose shrugged "You name it." There was a crash of the wolf bursting through a wooden door and I stiffened. The Doctor ran out to investigate, running back inside only moments later, grabbing Rose and me.

"Fire! Fire!" the Steward shouted, shooting at the wolf when it came closer.

The Doctor clapped his hands, trying to herd the men around us back "Alright, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me."

"I'll not retreat," the Steward snapped "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."

The Doctor watched the man with exasperation "I'm telling you, come upstairs."

"And I'm telling you, sir, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He stepped into the corridor and then looked back. I flinched and looked at the ceiling when I heard something moving around up there. I was about to mention it to them when the Steward continued "It must have crawled away to die." A furry arm reached down from the ceiling, hoisting the man up.

"There's nothing we can do," the Doctor breathed over the sounds of snarling and meat ripping. My mind involuntarily flashed back to the night Henrik died "Tyra, come on." He pulled me along, while I was stumbling more than walking. I really disliked werewolves with a passion.

Sir Robert came to a halt in front of the staircase and called out "Your Majesty? Your Majesty?"

"Sir Robert?" the monarch questioned, coming down the stairs with Nik at her heels "What's happening? I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out," the owner of the estate said sharply "But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

The Queen exchanged a look with Nik "Captain Reynolds disposed of him."

"The front door's no good," the Doctor muttered "It's been boarded shut. Pardon me, your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window."

I grabbed Nik's sleeve when he came to a halt next to me "There's really a wolf here, Nik…"

"It's no werewolf though, is it?"

"No," I shook my head "This one is actually harmed by silver and way more werewolf-y. He's kinda of bigger and more gangly than the werewolves from our village."

Nik wrapped an arm around my shoulders and followed the others to what appeared to be the drawing room "Why not just kill it? We're easily strong enough…"

I grabbed his sleeve "Don't. We don't know what's going to happen. That thing isn't human… Let the Doctor deal with this. Please, Nik. Just this once?"

"Fine," he sighed "Are you alright now?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Excuse my manners, ma'am," Sir Robert started "But I shall go first, to better assist her Majesty's egress."

The Queen sent the man a small nod "A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh."

"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" the Doctor rolled his eyes, dropping his Scottish accent in the process. Sir Robert opened the window, causing the monks outside to open fire "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside."

"Do they know who I am?" the Queen exclaimed.

I sighed and walked forward "They do. Apparently, that was the plan, your Majesty."

"What do you mean?"

Rose took over, throwing another appreciative glance at my brother who was standing next to the blonde girl now "The wolf's lined you up for a… a biting."

"Stop this talk," Victoria snapped "There can't be an actual wolf." As if the wolf had heard her, another loud howl echoed through the estate.

Rose latched onto the Doctor's arm "What do we do?"

"We run," the Time Lord shrugged, freeing his arm. He looked around at everyone.

"Is that it?" the blonde frowned.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow at her "You got any silver bullets?"

"Not on me, no."

"There we are then, we run," the Doctor sighed "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health." He jogged in place several seconds before heading up the stairs "Come on." The werewolf smashed its way out of the corridor it was in, following us up the stairs "Come on! Come on!"

Upstairs, we ran into Captain Reynolds who shot at the wolf when it neared, causing it to retreat for now "I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake. Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it," the Queen cut in "It's safe."

Reynolds nodded "Then remove yourself, ma'am. Doctor, you stand as he Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown."

"Bullets can't stop it," the Doctor pointed out to the man.

"They'll buy you time," the Captain shot back, getting in position "Now run."

We started running after Sir Robert. I glanced over my shoulder, watching Reynolds pumping bullets into the advancing werewolf "Rose, Tyra," the Doctor called, dragging us into the library while the Captain was being ripped apart.

"Barricade the door," Sir Robert commanded.

Nik helped the man, while I sunk onto a desk close to the Queen, burying my face in my hands. The Doctor leaned close to the door, pressing his ear to the wood "Wait a minute. Shush, shush, wait a minute." There was a quiet howl "It's stopped… It's gone."

"Listen," Rose murmured, holding up her finger.

There were footsteps and growls from outside the walls as it walked around the room "Is his the only door?" the Doctor questioned.

"Yes," Sir Robert nodded before he stiffened "No." They quickly barricaded the other door.

Nik had pulled me into his arms again, murmuring some nonsense. I wasn't sure whether he was trying to get me to calm down or whether he was trying to talk himself down. Seeing Reynolds getting ripped apart was the last thing either of us needed… I really, really disliked werewolves and I doubted that would change anytime soon. Hell, it didn't after a thousand years and it wouldn't now. The 'adventure' was turning into quite the nightmare because my mind kept dragging pictures of my twin dying up in my brain.

"I don't understand," Rose tilted her head "What's stopping it?"

"Something inside this room," the Doctor pointed out, looking around in confusion "What is it? Why can't it get in?"

The blonde turned to the Time Lord with a huge grin "I'll tell you what, though."

"What?"

"Werewolf," she crowed happily.

The Doctor laughed lightly "I know. You alright?"

"I'm okay, yeah," Rose nodded, throwing me a smug look. As if I didn't have bigger problems than Rose trying to assert her superiority over me. I didn't mind the Doctor paying attention to her, I really didn't. What annoyed me was that the blonde thought that she was better than me. She wasn't… In fact, I really didn't care much for her at all.

Sir Robert approached the Queen, hanging her head "I'm sorry, ma'am. It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Well, they were bald, athletic…" the Doctor scratched the back of his neck "Your wife's away. I just thought you were happy."

"Oh, God," I breathed into Nik's chest… He didn't really just say that, did he?

My brother shook from silent laughter "That guy really knows how to make an impression."

"Shut up, Nik," I snorted "You're usually not much better."

"I seem to be doing alright here," he pointed out, resting his chin on my head.

I looked up at him with a scowl. He always did like to make me feel small "That cause you don't act all… Klaus-ish tonight."

"Klaus-ish?" he repeated as if the words were something disgusting.

I grinned "I could have said Klaus-y but I didn't think you'd appreciate that."

"Do you think this is funny?" the Queen shouted at Rose.

The blonde lowered her head in shame "No, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please… What exactly is that creature?" Queen Victoria demanded.

"You'd call it a werewolf," the Doctor started.

Nik sighed "Not a werewolf."

"Shush." I poked him in the ribs harshly, gesturing at the Doctor "I wanna see this."

"But technically it's more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform," the Time Lord finished.

The Queen narrowed her eyes "And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"

The Doctor winced when he realized his mistake "Oh right, sorry, that's…"

"I'll not have it," the Queen cut him off "No, sir. Not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world." She sank down in one of the chairs, looking very done with all of this.

I stepped out of Nik's embrace and knelt down next to Queen Victoria's chair "I'm not going to ask whether you're alright because I can see you're not… But we'll get through this, I'm sure."

"How can you be certain of that?" the monarch questioned.

"Because the Doctor will not let anything happen to you. He might seem a little… odd but I trust him, ma'am," I told her, glancing at the man who was – licking the door?

Nik raised his eyebrow "Did he just lick the door?"

"Yes… Yes, he did," I sighed and slumped down.

"Lady Tyra. Are you well? You seem a little pale and your reaction earlier…"

I looked up at Sir Robert "I'm alright, thank you. My brother and I have bad experiences with wolves…"

The Doctor was leafing through the books that were in the library with Sir Robert's help. I looked up from talking to the Queen when Rose approached my brother with a flirty smile "So, how do you know her?" The blonde nodded in my direction, sidling up next to my older brother. Nik was about to open his mouth to reply when Rose continued "Well, it doesn't really matter. If I were you, I'd stay away from her. I'm so much better anyway."

I blinked at her daring and quickly grabbed Nik's arm when he was about to rip into the blonde "Nik, calm down."

"I'm going to kill her for treating you like this," he hissed lowly, glaring at Rose.

The blonde had stumbled back a little, trying to get away from my slightly psychotic brother "Rose, word of advice. Don't say stuff like that. Niklaus really doesn't take kindly to anyone treating his sisters like this."

"Sister?" Rose breathed, looking from Nik to me and back "You don't look alike."

I raised my shoulder in a shrug "Well, I kinda look like my father, while Nik takes after our mother."

"Look what your old dad found," the Doctor exclaimed, showing the book he was holding to Sir Robert. Rose took that as her moment to escape from the glare that Nik was still throwing at her "Something fell to Earth."

Rose tilted her head "A spaceship?"

"A shooting star," Sir Robert corrected, reading from the pages "In the year of out Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit. That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery."

"But that's over three hundred years ago," the blonde pointed out "What's it been waiting for?"

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host."

"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert questioned.

Rose shrugged "That's what it wants. It said so. The – the Empire of the Wolf."

"Imagine it," the Doctor hushed her "The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fuelled by coal and driven by steam, leaving history devastated in its wake…"

"Sir Robert," the Queen called, her voice shaking a little. The man whirled around, coming closer to the monarch "If I am to die here…"

"Don't say that, your Majesty."

Queen Victoria shook her head "I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself."

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," the Doctor sighed.

I punched him in the arm "Shut up, you bloody idiot."

"Thank you for your opinions," the Queen deadpanned "But there is nothing more valuable than this." She pulled out a fine white 105.6-carat diamond… I had seen it before several years ago when it was still bigger… But it was still magnificent.

Rose gaped at the diamond "Is that the Koh-i-Noor?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor smiled "The greatest diamond in the world."

Queen Victoria nodded "Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."

"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough," the Doctor pointed out, gesturing to the gem "Can I?" The Doctor examined the diamond carefully when the Queen handed it over carefully "That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?" Rose questioned, reaching out her hand to touch the smooth surface.

The Time Lord hummed in thought "They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week."

"Good job my mum's not here," Rose laughed "She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"And she'd win," the Doctor smiled back.

"So would Bekah," I mumbled to Nik.

He shook his head "No. Bekah wouldn't even get her hands dirty. She'd just get one of us to do it for her."

"Where is the wolf?" Sir Robert questioned, looking around uneasily "I don't trust this silence."

The Doctor ignored him, instead speaking to the Queen "Why do you travel with it?"

"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting," she explained.

The blonde teenager gasped "Oh, but it's perfect."

"My late husband never thought so."

I nodded "Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-i-Noor cut-down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he never seemed to be happy with it."

"He always said the shine was not quite right," the Queen reminisced "But he died with it still unfinished."

"Unfinished. Oh, yes," the Doctor exclaimed, throwing the stone back to Queen Victoria "There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond. Hold on, hold on. All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected. Oh, my head, my head. What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?"

"Obviously."

The Time Lord tugged at his hair some more, making it stand up everywhere "At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?"

Queen Victoria looked about done with the Doctor's antics "Explain yourself, Doctor."

"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf." Plaster dust fell from the ceiling, causing us all to look up "That wolf there." The glass started cracking under the wolf's weight "Out! Out! Out!"

When we were all out, the Doctor shut the mistletoe doors on the werewolf.

"Your Majesty!" Sir Robert called.

The Doctor ushered us on "Get to the observatory!" The werewolf was about to catch up with Rose when I pulled her in front of me. I tripped over something, crashing to the floor. I stiffened when the wolf was on top of me, scenes flashing across my eyes again.

_Flashback_

_Nik fought them off as well as he could but there were too many and soon one of the werewolves had pounced on Henrik, sinking its claws into the younger boy's stomach "Henrik." Nik's voice shook and the sword fell out of his nerveless fingers_

_End Flashback_

"Henrik," I breathed, blinking when I was ripped up from the floor.

Nik shook my shoulders "Ty, snap out of it."

I blinked several times again, the scene from the pasts fading into the present "Nik?"

"Come on, sister. We have to get to the observatory… Hurry," my brother whispered, pulling me along.

"Come on!" the Doctor waved.

Sir Robert lead the way "The observatory's this way." We carried on up the staircase just as the werewolf recovered from whatever they drenched him in. Mistletoe most likely.

Outside of the observatory, the Doctor ran his hand over the door "No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside. I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?"

Sir Robert shook his head "Just do your work and I'll defend it."

"If we could bind them shut with rope or something," the Doctor continued, looking around.

"I said I'd find you time, sir," the man repeated firmly "Now get inside."

The Doctor looked at him for a moment before he nodded "Good man." He closed the doors behind him before turning to the Queen "Your Majesty, the diamond."

"For what purpose?" she demanded. I was hiding my face in Nik's chest, trying to calm myself down. Maybe that wolf would have actually killed me? Since it wasn't a normal werewolf, its venom might have the ability to actually kill me? I wasn't sure whether I really wanted it or not. A part of me would always want to be with Henrik but another part of me found the joy in life again. The Doctor had shown me so much already…

"The purpose it was designed for." Victoria handed over the diamond "Rose." The two of them went to the control wheels and started raising the telescope up slowly "Lift it. Come on."

I pushed away from my brother "Help them."

"Are you sure you're going to be fine, sister?"

"No," I mumbled, curling into a ball on a table that was off to the side "But I'll survive…" When the screaming outside started, I clutched my hands to my eyes, pressing my eyes closed, thinking about the last time I saw Henrik. Thankfully, it had been a happier one… I wouldn't have been happy, had my last memory of him been the night he died.

_Flashback_

_Henrik tightened his arms around his twin's small frame "You can't go on like this. Please, try and live? For me?"_

_Tyra sniffled, trying desperately to hold back the emotions that were threatening to swallow her "I don't want to live, Henry. I want to stay here with you."_

_Her brother sighed sadly "You can't. I'm sorry, Ty but you have to go back. The Doctor needs you and you need him."_

_"No," the Original shouted, feeling some invisible force grab at her "Please, Henry. I don't want to lose you. Please let me stay."_

_End Flashback_

Henrik wanted me to live and I understood that but it was hard. After a thousand years, you really didn't want to do much of anything anymore. Even the Doctor sometimes seemed to be totally done with the universe… He hid it well for the most part but I knew how it felt. It was hard to hide things from the people who felt the same thing.

"You said this thing doesn't work," Rose shouted, ripping me from my thoughts. I shook myself, focussing on the situation at hand. No use dwelling on the past… More than I did on daily basis at least. I clutched at Nik's shirt, needing a way to hold ground myself for the moment. Sir Robert dying… It had hit closer to home. The sounds, the screams. I knew him a little better than the others who died… Maybe that was why it reminded me more of what happened.

The Doctor rolled his eyes in annoyance "It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is. It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up."

"It won't work," Rose exclaimed "There's no electricity." She caught the Doctor's exasperated look before it dawned on her "Moonlight. But the wolf needs moonlight. It's made by moonlight."

"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on! Come on!" The moon shone down into the telescope lens and bounced between the prisms, magnifying as it goes. The werewolf broke in, going for Queen Victoria. The Doctor slid the diamond over to where the light hit the floor. It refracted upwards, catching the werewolf in its beam, lifting it up off the floor. The wolf slowly turned back into a young man, hanging as if he was being crucified in mid-air.

"Make it brighter. Let me go," the boy pleaded.

The Doctor adjusted the magnification on the eyepiece. The man turned back into a wolf shape, howled and vanished. As soon as he was gone, Queen Victoria looked down at a small scratch on her wrist "Your Majesty? Did it bite you?"

"No," she denied "It's – it's a cut, that's all."

"If that thing bit you?"

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart. It's nothing," the monarch waved him off.

The Doctor reached out his hand "Let me see."

"It is nothing."

The next morning, I was leaning against Nik tiredly. I had spent most of the night with Lady Isobel, trying to console her after what happened to her husband. In short, I was exhausted and the nightmares I had when finally nodding off, didn't help either. The Doctor and Rose knelt down before the Queen who was armed with a sword "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis. By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. You may stand." She turned to look at me and my brother. I knew that Nik talked to her earlier about not seeing the need to get knighted, so she skipped him in her speech "I believe you were already knighted once already, Dame Tyra."

I hummed "Yes, ma'am."

The Doctor bowed his head, standing up "Many thanks, ma'am."

"Thanks," Rose grinned "Oh, they're never going to believe this back home."

"Your Majesty," the Time Lord spoke up quietly "You said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond. I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, ma'am, from beyond the grave."

Queen Victoria nodded sharply "Indeed. Then you may think on this also. That I am not amused."

"Yes!" Rose cheered, sticking her tongue out at the Doctor.

"Not remotely amused," she continued "And henceforth I banish the two of you."

The Doctor gaped "I'm sorry?"

The Queen glared at him darkly "I have rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. Lady Tyra, at least, is sensible enough to grief for the fallen. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you may survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return."

A little while later, I was about to follow Rose and the Doctor when Nik tightened his grip on my arm "Oh, no. You're coming with me."

"Nik," I protested, looking at the Doctor pleadingly.

He obviously understood "Rose and I are going to look for a ride back to the Tardis."

"I'm not coming back with you," I shook my head at the Hybrid.

"There's no way I'm leaving you here, Tyra," Nik pointed out "You belong with family… Like you said. Always and Forever. Why do you even want to go with them?" I ripped my arm out of his grip and was about to rush off, when he tackled me "I'm not stupid, little sister. You will come with me whether you like it or not." He pulled the dagger out of his pocket again "We can do this the easy or the hard way… Which is it going to be?"

I glared at him, groping the ground with my hand until I found something I could use. Without a moment of hesitation, I grabbed the piece of wood, ramming it into Nik's chest "I'm sorry," I whispered. I couldn't let him take me with him. Seeing as I was there already… If travelling with the Doctor taught me anything it was that paradoxes weren't a good thing at all. Veins crept up my brother's face and he slumped down on top of me. I knew that I had to hurry because Nik never stayed dead long. With another long look at the body of my brother, I ran in the direction the Doctor and Rose had left in.

"What happened?" the Time Lord asked when he saw me. I was covered in dirt because of the struggle, my hair tangled with earth.

I shook my head, climbing onto the cart the other two were already sitting on and curled up in a tight ball "We have to go. Now…"

As soon as we were back in the Tardis, I slumped onto the jump seat tiredly. I would have gone to shower but the Doctor prevented me from leaving for some reason.

"Rose," the Time Lord leaned against the console, raising his eyebrow "I believe you have something to say to Tyra?"

The blonde huffed and crossed her arms "Yeah. Your brother is a nut job."

"What? Why would you say that?" the Doctor frowned.

Rose obviously noticed that she messed up because she would have to explain why my brother decided to threaten her "Never mind…"

The Doctor looked at me and I shrugged. He sighed "You know that's not what I meant."

"I'm sorry," Rose said, looking at Tyra with a small glare that the Doctor couldn't see from his position.

I tilted my head in confusion "For what?"

"For slapping you," Rose mumbled reluctantly "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's – Fine, I guess," I shrugged, getting up. I knew that she didn't mean it and I honestly didn't care. She couldn't slap me anymore and that was good enough for me "Now, I'm going to shower and change… I'm full of mud." With that I walked to my room, stepping into the shower almost immediately. I slid down the wall of the shower with a sigh. The warm water felt amazing and it actually felt as if I could just wash away the whole freaking adventure in here. If only that were possible.

An hour later, I found myself back in the Pavilion the Doctor showed me a few days ago. I really liked it here, actually. It was peaceful and the garden looked amazing. I was close to falling asleep on the floor when I heard the soft footsteps I had come to associate with the Doctor coming closer "Here you are. I was looking for you."

"Well, you found me," I told him quietly, not bothering to open my eyes.

He sat down behind me, carefully easing my head onto his thigh "I suppose so… You don't like werewolves very much, do you?"

"What gave you the idea?" I sighed.

"Tyra… Tell me what's bothering you?" the Doctor murmured, running his hand through my hair.

I looked up at him "Have I ever told you about my twin brother?"

"You have a twin?"

"Had," I mumbled "I had a twin. His name was Henrik…"

Realization dawned on the Time Lord's face "I remember that name. The day in the church after you were eaten by that reaper."

"Yeah. I saw Henrik when I was dead. He – He was the reason my parents looked for a way to make my siblings and me stronger," I told him.

"What do you mean?"

I sat up, leaning my back against the wooden railing behind me "There was a pack of werewolves in our village. Every night on the full moon we went to hide in the caves that were close to where we lived." I wrapped my arms around my knees "One night I woke up in a panic… I just felt like something was wrong, so I looked for him. Henry and Niklaus went out… He wanted to see the wolves turn back and… They killed him. I saw the wolf ripping into him and it hurt so much. So fucking much."

The Doctor's eyes were wide as he looked at me. He drew me into a tight embrace "Your life has been so hard. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," I shrugged, snuggling into his warmth "I survived though… No matter whether I wanted to or not."

"About that," the Time Lord started "When you were talking to Cassandra, you implied that you'd rather be dead?"

I sighed "Yeah… I've never really liked what we turned into and it – I miss… I – Sorry, I…"

"It's alright if you're not read to talk about it," the Doctor told me "Hey, have I ever told you about Sarah Jane Smith?"

I smiled lightly "The stowaway?"

"Yes, her. There was this one time – After I had dropped her off on Earth. One of the Lord Presidents of Gallifrey had some delusions of grandeur or something. He kidnapped my previous regenerations and stuck them into the Death zone…" I listen to him describing how his previous regenerations met each other and quite some of the Companions met Doctors who they hadn't met before.


	5. School Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter here. Finally, right? I'm working on most of my stories at the moment, so I can't tell you which one I'll update next. Tribrid Salvatore, Daughter of Hades and this one are my main stories at the moment. I might post one or two new ones just to see whether there's any interest in it and then see whether I can't update a little quicker... Let's see.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

I walked into the classroom with the teacher I had been assisting for the past few days, Mr Parsons. He was the History teacher… The Doctor had a bit of fun making me a teaching assistant for History. According to him, it was the perfect subject for me. I wasn't too sure about it since I was aware that a lot of stuff people knew was wrong.

"Hello, students," Mr Parsons greeted with a smile, putting down his books on the table at the front of the classroom "Today we will be learning about Christopher Columbus. Does anyone know who he was?" A few students raised their hands, hesitatingly "Melissa."

"Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492," Melissa explained.

Mr Parsons nodded "Correct."

I shifted "Actually," I spoke up, catching the attention of the teacher. I had been pretty quiet the last two days but now I just couldn't not say anything "Columbus didn't discover America. It was discovered more than five centuries earlier by the Vikings at the end of the 10th century."

"There's no proof of the Vikings ever settling in America," the History teacher blustered "Why would they have left their homeland anyway?"

"They fled from the Plague. Families who have lost people to the disease decided to start again somewhere else. They started sailing and eventually reached Greenland and the north of America," I explained, straightening up.

Mr Parson snorted "Right. Like I said… There is no proof of any of this happening and I would know. I studied History after all." He stopped for a moment and tilted his head "As far as I know there was no Plague in the north of Europe at the time."

"There was," I contradicted "I have family journals that date back as far as the end of the 10th century. My ancestors lost their oldest daughter to the illness and left Europe behind. They settled in what you know as Virginia today and that's where they stayed until the village was decimated in 1001."

The bell rang, signalling the end of class. The students who had been watching the argument like a tennis match quickly gathered their stuff and escaped. Mr Parsons, on the other hand, didn't move. He was still looking at me "If your family has proof, then why did no one ever publish it?"

"Because it's my family's history. It's something we guard with our lives," I pointed out "As far as I know there are some sites around the US that proof that Vikings were there. Runic inscriptions and similar things. People just never thought that it could possibly be true."

A knock on the door startled the two of us out of the conversation. The Doctor was leaning against the doorframe "Are you ready for lunch, Ty?" He looked from me to the teacher and back "Everything alright here?"

"Sure," I smiled, walking over to the Time Lord "We just disagreed over who discovered America."

"Ah," he snorted and nodded to the teacher "I hope she didn't annoy you too much? I've known Tyra for over a year now and even I have to admit that her family was… everywhere. Literally everywhere."

Mr Parsons blinked in surprise "No, no. It – Thank you for giving me a new insight, Miss Mikaelson."

"That was a reaction I didn't expect," I mumbled "Thank you, sir. I'm sorry that I interrupted class."

He waved off "All is well, all is well. Now off to lunch with you. I'll see you in the staff room later."

"Yes, sir." I walked to the canteen with the Doctor, looking around the school curiously. It's been two days and it was still weird to be inside one of these "I've never been to school before. This is decidedly weird."

The Doctor gaped down at me "I thought you were joking. You really never went to school? Not even out of boredom?"

I shook my head "No. My brothers taught me most of what I know. The rest I figured out as time passed."

"I can't blame you," the Doctor shrugged "Most of the time, school is pretty much useless."

I snorted when a group of students stared at the Doctor with wide eyes "Maybe you shouldn't say that out loud. Impressionable young ear around." I nodded to the group when the Time Lord frowned down at me.

"Oh," he breathed "Yeah… My bad." The Doctor held the door to the canteen open for me and followed me inside. I wrinkled my nose at the smell. I didn't mind the smell of chips on good days but in here it was almost unbearable. The only thing that reached my nose was the smell of oil and it made me a little sick.

Rose was glaring at the Time Lord when we passed her station in the line. She was slopping some mash onto our trays angrily. The Doctor grinned down at me and winked "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"I'm sure, I don't know what you mean," he replied innocently.

A little while later, I had only eaten a little bit of the mash. The Doctor was nibbling at the chips with a puzzled frown "You alright?"

"Two days," Rose hissed, stalking over to the table we were sitting at.

"Sorry," the Doctor grinned, gesturing to the left of where Rose was wiping the table "Could you just? There's a bit of gravy." The blonde glared "No, no, just… Just there."

I snorted, earning myself a glare as well. I held up my hands in a surrender gesture and Rose turned back to the Time Lord "Two days, we've been here."

"Blame your boyfriend," the Doctor shrugged "He's the one who put us onto this. And he was right… Boy in class this morning, got a knowledge way beyond planet Earth."

Rose sighed and sat down across from us "You eating those chips?" She gestured to our trays.

"Yeah," the Doctor mumbled "They're a bit different…"

The blonde pulled both trays towards her and started shovelling chips into her mouth "I think they're gorgeous," she mumbled, her mouth still full "Wish I had school dinners like this."

"It's very well behaved, this place," the Doctor pointed out, looking around at the quiet students.

"Hmm," Rose hummed disinterestedly, still stuffing her face with the chips. By now she finished the Doctor's tray and moved onto mine.

The Time Lord didn't even look at her "I thought there's be happy slapping hoodies. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs… Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones." He grinned at both me and Rose brightly "Huh? Huh? Oh, yeah… Don't tell me I don't fit in."

I leaned over to him "You don't fit in," I mumbled into his ear.

"You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting," the head dinner lady reprimanded Rose sharply.

She looked up at the woman in surprise "I was just talking to this teacher."

"Hello," the Doctor waved, poking me with his fork.

"Hey," I complained, grabbing it out of his hand "Act your age for once, would you?"

Rose rolled her eyes at us "They don't like the chips."

"The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance," the head dinner lady explained "Now, get back to work."

"See?" the blonde gestured, turning back to us "This is me. Dinner lady."

The Doctor tilted his head "I'll have the crumble."

"I'm so going to kill you," Rose muttered, walking back towards the kitchen. I knew that she was mad about the whole dinner lady thing. Especially, since I got to be a TA. The Doctor had argued that the only subject he could put in a teaching assistant was History and since I practically lived through the whole curriculum, he decided that I would be the assistant instead of Rose. While the argument was good, Rose still didn't look too happy. She had been pretty mad at me since the whole Queen Victoria thing. It was her own fault, really. She wouldn't have gotten banished if she just listened to me about that stupid bet. But no… Miss Tyler knew better than me and she had to show it…

Later, the Doctor and I were in the staff room with the other teachers, waiting for Mr Finch. The headmaster had called a meeting for some reason that I wasn't told. I was sitting on a table, while the Doctor leaned against the edge next to me. My head was leaning against the Time Lord's shoulder, looking up at Mr Parsons curiously "Yesterday, I had a twelve-year-old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy in cubits," he pointed out.

The Doctor nodded "Ty told me about it… It's been like this ever since the new headmaster arrived?"

"Finch arrived three months ago," Parsons nodded thoughtfully "Next day, half the staff got the flu. Finch replaced them with that lot, except for the teacher you replaced and that was just plain weird, her winning the lottery like that."

"How's that weird?" the Time Lord questioned, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Parsons shrugged "She never played," he exclaimed "Said the ticket was posted through her door at midnight."

"Hmm," the Doctor grinned down at me "The world is very strange."

It was then that the headmaster entered with a woman in tow "Excuse me, colleagues. A moment of your time," he called out "May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith." I straightened up, glancing at the Time Lord next to me. Was this the same Sarah Jane who travelled with him? From the look on his face it had to be. Sweet! Out of all the Companions it was her I wanted to meet the most "Miss Smith is a journalist who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times. I thought it might be useful for her to get a view from the trenches, so to speak. Don't spare my blushes." The man turned to leave the room.

The woman looked around for a moment before walking over to us, smiling "Hello."

"Oh, I should think so," the Doctor beamed. I had to hide a snort from the two of them… The Doctor was being very awkward.

"And… you are?"

The Time Lord blinked "Hm? Er, Smith. John Smith."

"John Smith," the woman mused "I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."

The Doctor raised a shoulder in a nonchalant shrug "Well, it's a common name."

"He was a very uncommon man," she smiled "Nice to meet you." Sarah Jane glanced at me "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Tyra Mikaelson," I introduced myself, shaking Miss Smith's offered hand "I'm a TA."

Miss Smith brightened up "How is it? Fun?"

"It's alright," I shrugged "I mean, I love History but I'm not sure if the teaching part is for me…"

"Oh, well. There are always more jobs out there," the woman shrugged "You'll find something that you're interested in." She looked at the Doctor who had been staring at her the whole time, shifting a little in discomfort "So, er, have you worked here long?"

The Time Lord shook his head "No. Er, it's only our second day."

"You're new, then," Sarah Jane nodded "So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum?" She leaned closer to us and lowered her voice a little "So many children getting ill. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"You don't sound like someone just doing a profile," the Doctor pointed out with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Well," the former Companion drew herself up "No harm in a little investigation while I'm here."

The Doctor inclined his head "No. Good for you." He stared after her in wonder when she moved away "Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith."

I leaned my head back against his shoulder "You should stop grinning like this. It's creepy. I think you scared her."

"Was it really that bad?" the Time Lord blinked, looking down at me.

"You have no idea. Hell, I would have been creeped out by you just then," I pointed out.

The Doctor sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, watching the woman talk to the other teachers "What do you think?"

"Of her?" I questioned "I like her. She seems like an amazing person and I know why you travelled with her for as long as you did."

The rest of the day passed quickly and soon the Doctor, Mickey, Rose and I were sneaking back into the school at night. The blonde girl shivered lightly "Oh, it's weird seeing school at night. It just feels wrong. When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school."

I was standing next to Mickey, talking to him about the last few adventures. We hadn't gotten the chance to talk much before because Rose too literally all of the boy's attention the last few days, whining about being stuck as a dinner lady. The Doctor clapped his hands "Alright, team." He stopped and grimaced at his own words "Oh, I hate people who say team. Er, gang. Er, comrades."

"Comrades?" I raised my eyebrow, wrinkling my nose. That sounded worse than team…

"Anyway," the Time Lord shook his head "Rose, go to the kitchen. Get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all Maths teachers. Go and check the Maths department. Ty, go and show him where it is. I'm going to look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes." With that he walked off, leaving the three of us in the hallway.

Rose looked up at Mickey "You going to be alright?"

"Me? Please," the boy scoffed "Infiltration and investigation? I'm an expert at this." He left only to come back a second later, looking at me pleadingly "Where do we have to go?"

I grinned at him "Come on."

"Thank you," he murmured as we walked to where the Maths department was located "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I frowned in confusion.

Mickey shrugged "Just seems like you've been quieter since you got back."

"Really?" I asked in surprise "I didn't notice… It's just that – On our last adventure, I met someone who I haven't seen in a century and a half. I've been quite close to Queen Victoria and I feel really bad that I haven't been there when her husband died."

Mickey blinked "You knew Queen Victoria? That's a story I have to hear."

"It was – Oh, about 1850, I think. Her oldest son, Edward was around ten at the time when someone close to the royal family tried to kill him. I was there at the right time. To be honest, I think that Albert was close to locking me up in a tower when I decided it was time to go back to my family. They knew about who I was – about what I was." I paused, biting my lip. They never turned their backs on me, even after finding out that I was one of the monsters that go bump in the night. Mickey and I had arrived at the Maths department and the boy immediately started opening every drawer and cupboard "It was nice to see Victoria again, even if the circumstances weren't the best."

"Did you ever –?" Mickey cut himself off with a loud scream that had me covering my ears when a bunch of dead rats fell out of the cupboard he opened and onto him.

I uncovered my ears and rubbed at them with a small glare "Really?"

"They're rats," he gasped, hiding his bigger frame behind my smaller one.

"Dead rats, Mickey," I pointed out, walking over to crouch in front of the pile on the floor. The dead rodents were vacuum packed and as fresh as dead rats could be "It's not like they'll come back to life and eat your brain."

The boy paled a little more "Zombie rats," he whimpered.

I snorted "Oh, dear Lord…"

It didn't take long before the Doctor, Rose and Sarah Jane crashed into the room, looking around. Mickey scratched his head in embarrassment "Sorry. Sorry, it was only me."

"He was looking through the cupboards and found these," I spoke up, throwing one of the rats at the Doctor.

Rose screeched and jumped away from the man "Oh, my God, they're rats. Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats."

The Time Lord caught it, turning it over before looking at Mickey again "And you decided to scream."

"It took me by surprise," Mickey pointed out defensively.

"Like a little girl?"

I rolled my eyes "Doctor. We get it." I got up from my crouch and nodded at Sarah Jane "Nice to see you again."

"You too," the woman gave back, looking at me curiously.

"Hello, can we focus?" Rose spoke up with a glare to me and Sarah Jane "Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?"

"Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?" Sarah Jane pointed out, staring at the blonde with disdain in her eyes.

Rose huffed "Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the Dark Ages?"

I winced and exchanged a look with Mickey while the Doctor who looked from Rose to Sarah Jane and back "Anyway," he cut in, looking more than uncomfortable with the situation "Everything started when Mister Finch arrived. We should go and check his office."

Out in the corridor, the Doctor, Mickey and I walked behind Rose and Sarah Jane. I was watching the Doctor's reaction to all of this. A part of me felt bad for him… Rose obviously wasn't taking it well. Would I have been like this if he hadn't told me about his previous Companions? I hoped not since I could understand why he decided to keep the past where it belonged. Once you get old enough, it wasn't a good idea to live in the past like I had done for far too long. It still haunted me more often than not but I knew that I was getting better… The Doctor was helping me to get better whether he knew it or not "Sorry. I don't mean to be rude but… Who are you?" Rose asked, looking at Sarah Jane weirdly.

"Sarah Jane Smith," she introduced herself with a smile "I used to travel with the Doctor."

Rose immediately started glaring at her "Oh! Well, he never mentioned you."

"Oh," Sarah nodded in realization, looking at the floor sadly.

The Doctor threw me a panicked look, causing me to sigh in exasperation and turn to look at the older woman "Did you really sneak on the Tardis when he wasn't looking?"

Sarah Jane looked at me in surprise, her eyes lighting up at either the memory or the fact that the Doctor had actually talked about her "I did," she smiled fondly "I ended up walking around the Middle Ages."

I winced "Speaking of culture shock. At least corsets hadn't been invented yet. Those are a bitch and a half to put on. No wonder that I always wore men's clothing…"

"How do you know that?" Rose frowned.

"What? The culture shock?" I purposely misunderstood her but there was no way I was getting into that discussion right now "I lived through the Dark Ages."

The blonde narrowed her eyes at me "About her."

I shrugged, looking at the ground "We have a deal. He tells me about his past, I tell him about mine."

"What's so interesting about your past? I wouldn't want to hear about you killing people," the blonde muttered quiet enough so that no one but me really understood the words.

I flinched and skirted around the two women in front of me "We should probably go and check out the office now, right?"

"Tyra?" Mickey called out with a frown, jogging to catch up to me "Okay?"

"I'm fine," I murmured, avoiding his gaze. It wasn't that I didn't know Rose's stance about what I was but it still hurt. I wasn't proud of some of the things I did and I blamed myself enough already without anyone adding to it. Normally, I didn't care about what people thought but since Rose was around me most of the time it was getting harder to take. One of the first times that I acted, I compelled her… I could have killed her easily but I didn't. Why I restrained myself, I didn't know. The other girl clearly wasn't doing the same.

At the office, the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on the lock "Maybe those rats were food."

"Food for what?" Rose questioned, leaning against the man's back.

The Time Lord shifted, pushing her back a little. He opened the door, peaking inside "Rose, you know you used to think all the teachers slept in the school? Well, they do…" With that, he pushed opened the door to reveal a group of giant bats hanging from the ceiling.

"No way," Mickey muttered from where he was standing next to me. His hand was clenched into my sleeve while he obviously had to suppress the urge to run.

I sighed, grasping his hand in mine "Come on, let's get out of here," I whispered, aware that bats had a very good hearing. The others followed us after the Doctor closed the door. I stiffened when I heard a screech from behind me.

Outside, Mickey was shaking his head, pacing up and down "I'm not going back in there. No way."

"Those were teachers," Rose tilted her head.

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people," the Doctor nodded and was about to walk back into the school "Come on."

Mickey scoffed "Come on? You've got to be kidding."

"I need the Tardis," the Time Lord explained impatiently "I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen."

Sarah Jane smiled at us a little smugly "I might be able to help you there. I've got something to show you." She lead us to her car and opened the boot, keeping her body in front of whatever it was that she wanted to show us at first.

"K9," the Doctor exclaimed happily "Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Tyra Mikaelson, allow me to introduce K9, well, K9 Mark Three to be precise." I studied the metal dog curiously. He looked very futuristic and kinda old school at the same time.

"Why does he looks so disco?" Rose grimaced.

The Doctor stared at her, affronted "Oi! Listen, in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge. What's happened to him?"

"Oh," Sarah Jane shrugged "One day, he just… Nothing."

"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?" the Time Lord pressed.

I made a noise at the back of my throat "You just said something about the year five thousand. How the hell would she do that, Doc?"

The Doctor ignored me "Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you, eh?"

After watching him pet the metal dog for a while, Rose cleared her throat "Look, no offence, but could you two just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog. We're busy."

The six of us, including K9, relocated to the coffee shop that was nearby. I was curled up on a chair next to where the Doctor was working on K9 with Sarah Jane on the other side of the table. Rose and Mickey were in a booth a few tables over. I was fiddling with my phone, deep in thoughts ' **You there?** _'_ I texted Sienna. I hadn't really spoken to my friend in a while… There had always been periods of silence between us but normally one of us tried to contact the other once in a while.

' **Yup. How are you?** ' she texted back almost immediately.

I bit my lip, thinking of how to answer that question ' **I'm alright. Better than I have been in a while. How's the coven?** '

' **I'm glad. You deserve to be happy. Even if you don't seem to think so.** ' The annoyance in the message was clear to me. Sienna was always so adamant about me enjoying my existence. Life was sad enough with all the happy moments, so you shouldn't wallow in them. It was something that she always said… I think her grandmother was the one who taught her that. Joanna had been part of the Gemini Coven before Joshua Parker became the leader in the 1970s. The older witch hadn't agreed with his leadership and when it became apparent that some of the other members would listen to what she was saying, Joshua practically threw her out. What no one knew at the time was that she had been pregnant, so as soon as Joanna was able to, she came to find the Emrys Coven. They welcomed her with open arms and she thrived in her new role ' **The Coven is doing well. Do you know a Sheila Bennett?** '

' **Maybe. The name rings a bell. She's a descendant of Emily Bennett, I think. Abby's mother?** '

Sienna took a little longer to reply this time ' **She contacted Abby. Apparently, her granddaughter is showing signs. Her powers are about to awaken…** '

' **That's always a bit of a worry but if Abby's anything to go by, Sheila is a good teacher. Interfere if you think you have to. Check in on then once she shows definite signs. There's not much we can do.** '

' **Alright. Are you coming back sometime?** '

"Ty?" the Doctor ripped me out of my own little bubble.

I looked up from my phone in confusion "Hm?"

He gestured to Sarah Jane who smiled at my questioning look "I was asking whether you were alright."

"Oh, yeah… Fine," I shrugged "Why?"

"You've been pretty quiet," the Doctor pointed out.

"I'm just tired," I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face "Haven't gotten too much sleep since the alien werewolf incident."

The Time Lord raised his eyebrow at me "You told me the reason but I'm a little surprised that it still affects you as much as it does."

I shifted uncomfortably, glancing at the older woman across from us "Does it matter?"

The Doctor caught my gaze and sighed "We'll talk about this later, alright?"

"I'm guessing you're insisting?" I questioned, smiling tiredly.

"You guessed right," he nodded, turning back to work on K9.

Sarah Jane smiled when I caught her glancing at me. She tilted her head "Wait. Earlier did you say you lived through the Middle Ages?"

I was about to answer her when K9 sprung back to life "Oh, hey," the Doctor cheered "Now we're in business."

"Master," K9 answered happily.

"He recognizes me," the Time Lord grinned.

The robot-dog nodded "Affirmative."

The Doctor looked over to where Rose was stuffing her face with chips. Didn't she ever get tired of eating those? "Rose, give us the oil."

"I wouldn't touch it, though," the blonde warned, handing it over "That dinner lady got all scorched."

"I'm no dinner lady," the Time Lord pointed out and blinked "And I don't often say that." He smeared some of the oil on the probe that K9 was holding out for him. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The smell of the oil was very unpleasant. It reminded me of the cafeteria at lunch which meant that this was the oil they used to make the chips… "Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go."

K9 pulled the sensor back "Oil. Ex-ex-ex-extract. Ana-ana-analysing."

"Listen to him," Mickey murmured in surprise "That's a voice."

Sarah Jane grinned at him jokingly "Careful. That's my dog."

"Confirmation of analysis," K9 proclaimed "Substance is Krillitane Oil."

"They're Krillitanes," the Doctor groaned.

Rose looked over at the Time Lord, a worried look on her face "Is that bad?"

"Very," he nodded "Think of how bad things could possibly be and add another suitcase full of bad."

I hummed "As long as it's only a suitcase. It could be worse." Everyone looked at me and I shrugged with a sheepish grin "I might not know about Krillitanes but I definitely know things that are worse."

"What are Krillitanes?" Sarah Jane questioned.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was "They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries, people you've invaded or have been invaded by. You've got bits of Viking." Here he stopped to waggled his eyebrows at me "Bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy. That's why I didn't recognize them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks."

"That still doesn't explain why they're here," I pointed out "If they were invading then they would target the government but they're not. They're at a school…"

"It's the children," the Time Lord realized "They're doing something to the children. We have to stop them."

I helped Mickey and Sarah Jane to carry K9 outside, putting him back into the boot of the older woman's car. Mickey watched me slide the tin dog further back "So what's the deal with the tin dog?"

"The Doctor likes travelling with an entourage," Sarah Jane explained "Sometimes they're humans, sometimes they're aliens and sometimes…" She leaned over to pet K9's head gently "Sometimes they're tin dogs." The woman glanced at me "I know that you're pretty close to the Doctor. What I don't know is why."

I raised my shoulder in a small shrug "I'm… not human, you could say," I admitted quietly "We had an adventure a while back that brought up memories for me. Same as the werewolf a few days ago. The Doctor promised to tell me about his past if I tell him about mine."

"Considering the fact that you're older than the Doc, you have some pretty good stories to tell," Mickey grinned, ruffling my hair.

Sarah Jane blinked "You're older than the Doctor?"

"Yeah," I nodded "I'm a little bit over a thousand years old."

"Can I ask where you're from? What planet?"

I winced "Ah, I'm from Earth… I'm just not… Mortal anymore." I hesitated for a moment and glanced up at Mickey. The boy wrapped an arm around my shoulders, squeezing gently "After my twin brother died, my mother did a ritual. She turned my other siblings and me into… into…"

Sarah Jane cut me off with a hand on my arm "You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable," she told me quietly and turned to look at Mickey "What about you? Where do you fit into the picture?"

Mickey grinned "Me? I'm their Man in Havana. I'm the technical support. I'm –" His grin faded, replaced by a look of wounded horror "Oh, my God. I'm the tin dog."

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around his middle "You're not a tin dog," I muttered sharply "You're my friend. I don't have too many of those, so you know you're something else."

"Like Captain Jack?" Mickey questioned, his expression brightening up again.

I hummed "Yup. I can talk to you and you accepted me, Mickey. There aren't a lot of people who wouldn't be at least a little scared of me."

"Not if I knew that you wouldn't hurt me," the boy pointed out, resting his head on mine "You know, I kinda like talking to you."

"You two are cute," Sarah Jane laughed "But Tyra is right. You aren't a tin dog, Mickey. The Doctor just… occasionally forgets to consider the feelings of the people he walks over."

I could see that "I think that's part of the reason why he likes to have people travelling with him. It makes him see that while he sees a lot, there are things that change your perspective."

"I do believe you're right," the older woman nodded.

I was about to say something else when a faint voice reached my ears "On my command," Finch commanded. My head snapped around, eyes lingering on the roof where the Headmaster was standing with another Krillitane.

"Tyra?" Mickey frowned as I grabbed a hold of his and Sarah Jane's arms, ready to pull them out of the way if necessary.

"Krillitane," I hissed quietly, keeping my eyes on the two forms over our heads. I could hear the Doctor and Rose talking over by the coffee shop. Or rather, I could hear Rose verbally attacking the Time Lord for not telling her about his former Companions.

Finch inhaled sharply, repeating what the Doctor had just said "Time Lord." The Doctor looked up just in time to see a giant bat swoop down towards us. I quickly pulled Mickey and Sarah Jane down, shielding them with my body.

"Was that a Krillitane?" Sarah Jane questioned breathlessly, watching the bat swoop away.

Rose looked up at the sky "But it didn't even touch her. It just flew off. What did it do that for?"

The five of us decided to call it a night then. Since Sarah Jane's was the closest, we got into her car with me half lying on Mickey, squished against the window while the Doctor was in the passenger seat.

As soon as we reached the woman's house, she turned to us "Rose, you can take the guest bedroom down here. Mickey… Are you alright with a sofa?" Then she turned to the Doctor and me "There's another bedroom upstairs. If you want to sleep, you can in there. The kitchen is over there." She pointed to a door on the other side of the living room "And a bathroom behind you, Doctor. I'm going to bed, so make yourselves comfortable."

After the older woman vanished upstairs, the Doctor turned to me "You, upstairs. Now."

I exchanged a look with Mickey and sighed "Night, Mickey."

"Night," he waved, throwing himself onto the couch.

Upstairs, I walked into the room with the open door, looking at the Doctor who was standing by the window "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

I shrugged "I'm fine, Doc. I have these phases where I remember Henrik."

"But you're not sleeping…"

"It's… when I remember the pain," I murmured quietly, sinking down on the bed.

The Time Lord frowned, crouching down in front of me "That's the second time you mentioned pain… What do you mean?"

"Henrik was my twin brother, Doctor," I pointed out "We had a connection. A very strong connection. Even when we were children we could tell if the other was hurt or not feeling well. Ayana – a friend of our mother's – said that we were the same soul in two pieces…" I looked down at him, tears filling my eyes "Can you imagine how much it hurts to lose the other part of yourself? How lost you feel? When Nik daggered me that first time… That was the only time I didn't feel like I was drowning in darkness. After that, Kol helped a lot. I just – Every time I remember it's like…" I slid from the bed, landing in front of the Doctor.

He ran a hand through my hair, pulling me closer "It's alright. You've been doing better, right? The pain will never leave you completely but I'm sure if your brother is anything like you, he'd want you to live – to move on."

"I think he was close to kicking my ass," I laughed wetly "Back when I died in that church."

"He sounds like someone I would have loved to meet," the Doctor smiled.

I looked up at the bottom of his chin "Henry would have loved you. He was always the one to get into trouble because of some adventure or another. Of course, our older brothers mostly took the blame. Well, Nik did. The two were so close and after Henrik died…" I broke off, shaking my head.

"Your family broke," the Time Lord sighed, rubbing my back. I sighed, leaning against him a bit more. I really was tired now and I could feel myself drifting off "Ty?" he murmured after a while. I hummed faintly, not bothering to open my eyes. The Doctor let out a small chuckle and carefully lifted me onto the bed "Goodnight."

The next morning, the five of us were standing in front of the school, watching the children arrive. The Doctor turned to us "Tyra, Rose and Sarah, you go to the Maths room. Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this." He handed me the sonic screwdriver, Rose holding out her empty hand "Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside."

"Just stand outside?" Mickey frowned.

Sarah Jane tossed him her keys "Here, take these you can keep K9 company."

I looked from Mickey to the Doctor to the sonic in my hand "Here." I passed the screwdriver to Sarah Jane "I'll stay with Mickey."

"What? Why?" the Doctor blinked.

"Because you don't need me in there," I pointed out.

The Doctor sighed "Alright. If you think it's best."

"What are you going to do?" Rose questioned.

"It's time I had a word with Mister Finch," the Doctor murmured, staring at the building with dark eyes.

After they were gone, I curled up on the passenger side. Mickey was still grumbling "Surveillance. If you ask me, it's just another way of saying 'go sit at the back of the class with the safety scissors and glitter'. Can you tell me again how I'm not the tin dog?"

"I can't tell you what's going on in his mind but to be honest, I think he just wants to get under your skin," I told him "He knows that you can do a lot. Hell, you helped us with the whole Slitheen drama."

Mickey scoffed "Or he just doesn't respect me at all."

"I doubt it," I murmured "If he didn't respect you, he wouldn't even want you along."

"Whatever," he grumbled "So, what now?"

I glanced at the entrance of the school and back at Mickey "No clue."

"Did you know that Rose is jealous of you?" he spoke up after a few moments of silence "Of the relationship you have with the Doctor."

I titled my head "What? That's stupid. I knew she has a crush on him… She's not very subtle about it."

Mickey turned in his seat "I think that's the reason she treated you like shit in the beginning."

"Why? I like the Doctor as a friend. Nothing more. Yes, he talks to me about things that he doesn't normally talk about but I don't judge. I told you I did some pretty bad things… I have no right to judge anyone else and I think he appreciates that," I explained "Even if I was interested in the Doctor, I would back off… The last thing I want is another incident like…"

"Like what?" Mickey tilted his head.

I closed my eyes "Back when I was human… There was a girl in the village. She was a whore," I spat "Nik and Elijah fell in love with her. I think that was the moment my family started to fracture. They were fighting all the fucking time and that bitch was dating both of them. Tatia played them both…"

"I can understand why you wouldn't want to be in the middle of that," Mickey nodded.

"You don't know anything," I snorted "About five hundred years later, it fucking happened again. Kind of. Tatia's Doppelgänger – Katerina – came into the picture. Nik wanted to kill her and Elijah fell into love with her. I'm so glad that I wasn't there for that. Kol and I only went back home once in that time… One time and all their attention was on 'dear Katerina'."

"You know, I already thought your family wasn't the best…" Mickey waved his hand around.

I shook my head "My siblings are alright… Sometimes. It's my parents who are the worst. I'm kinda glad that they aren't around anymore." I turned my head to look out of the window and blinked when I saw a boy – Kenny if I remembered right – banging on the doors "Mickey."

"They've taken them all," he called through the doors.

Mickey frowned "What?"

Kenny pulled at the doors frantically "They've taken all the children."

"I can try to kick in the door," I offered with a small shrug. This shouldn't be a big deal… The doors of the game station had been harder to kick down that glass door would be.

Mickey looked from me to the car and back to me "Go ahead. Less damage than a car would be."

I laughed, shaking my head "Kenny, I need you to get back a little and cover your face. I don't know whether the glass will break or not." As soon as the boy did as I asked, I kicked against the frame of the door with as much strength as I could. The door cracked open and the glass shattered completely when the door hit the wall behind it.

"Huh," Mickey blinked "Did you do that before?"

I nodded "Game station," I told him "Come on. Let's get the kids." I looked at Kenny "I want you to wait out here, Kenny. It's safer, alright?"

"Yes, Miss Mikaelson," the kid nodded, looking back at the school worriedly.

"Don't worry. They're going to be fine," I smiled lightly "We're going to get the others out."

"Let's get to it." Mickey grabbed my arm, dragging me along.

On our way into the school, we ran into Sarah Jane, Rose and the Doctor at the bottom of the staircase. I raised my eyebrow "Wanna tell us what's going on?" My question was answered when a bunch of the bat creatures started flying towards us "Eh, never mind." I ran after the others, making sure to keep between them and the Krillitanes at all times. We stopped when we reached the canteen, the Doctor about to sonic the doors on the other end.

Finch walked in, glaring at all of us "We need the Doctor alive. As for the others? You can feast." The Krillitanes swooped down and while the Doctor tried to fend them off with a chair, the others tried to hide underneath the tables. I caught the arm of one of the creatures, flinging it towards another. They crashed together at the same time as a third was decimated by a laser beam.

"K9," Sarah Jane breathed in relief.

K9 turned towards us "Suggest you engage running mode, mistress."

"Come on," the Doctor gestured, shooing us through the doors "K9, hold them back."

"Affirmative, Master. Maximum defence mode."

The Doctor nodded, sealing the doors to the physics laboratory behind us. "It's the oil," he realized as they caught their breath "Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it. They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them." The Time Lord pointed at Rose "How much was there in the kitchen?"

"Barrels of it," the blonde answered, a look of realization dawning on her face.

I flinched when the Krillitanes started battering on the door "Okay," the Doctor hurried "We need to get to the kitchens… Mickey –"

"What now?" the boy grumbled "Hold the coats?"

"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school," the Doctor continued, ignoring Mickey's tone "Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?"

I grabbed Mickey's arm, hitting the fire alarm on the way out of the doors "Let's do this." The noise was hurting my ears but I could manage, I think. The others ran out towards the kitchens behind us, while Mickey and I made our way to the first classroom.

"Okay, listen, everyone," Mickey called out, looking at the children in the room "We've got to get out of here."

I put my hand on his arm, shaking my head "It won't work. Look at them… It's like they're in a trance."

Mickey blinked, waving his hand in front of their faces. He sighed and looked around. There on one of the wall was a single switch. The boy quickly hit it, causing all of the screens to go blank "Everyone get out. Now." The children got up, running outside "Come on, move. Let's go. Let's go."

On our way out of the school, we herded all the children out as quickly as we could. There was no saying what the Doctor planned to do with the oil but one thing was for sure… It was going to be big "Hurry," I urged, waving the kids through the school yard.

Mickey clapped his hands "Come on, guys. Let's go, let's go," he shouted over the sound of the fire alarm "Run."

Outside the school, we were joined by the Doctor, Rose and a down-trodden Sarah Jane "What happened?" I asked her quietly.

"K9," she breathed, staring at the school with wide eyes. I just turned in the direction when the whole school blew up. My hands raised to my ears and I groaned in pain. Really… Every time. I really hated having hearing this good. It was a pain most of the time.

"Did you have something to do with it?" I heard a girl questioned and turned my head to see Melissa talking to Kenny.

Kenny blushed and glanced around the crowd. When he caught me eyes, I gave him a thumbs up and a small nod "Yeah, I did."

"Oh, my God," Melissa gasped "Kenny blew up the school. It was Kenny." The other kids lifted him onto their shoulders, chanting his name.

The Doctor came to stand next to me and Sarah Jane "I'm sorry," he murmured quietly, the guilt in his voice obvious.

"It's alright," she waved off, sounding everything but alright "He was just a daft metal dog. It's fine, really." With that, she burst into tears. The Doctor pulled her into his arms, running his hand up and down her back.

When the Time Lord started whispering to his former Companion, I walked over to stand by Mickey and Rose. The blonde was glaring at Sarah Jane before turning to me "Tyra… Can I – Can I talk to you?" With a quick glance at Mickey, she added "Alone."

"Er –" I blinked in surprise, exchanging a quick look with Mickey and shrugged "I guess."

"Great. Come on," she exclaimed, pulling me towards where the Tardis had relocated. Once we were out of earshot from everyone, she slowed a little "I want you to turn me into a vampire."

I froze "I'm sorry. What?" I couldn't have heard right… Could I?

"I want to be a vampire," Rose repeated, her expression turning into one of annoyance "I don't want to leave the Doctor and that's my chance to stay with him forever."

I let out an incredulous laugh "Rose, I think you don't really understand what you're asking. There's no way in hell I'm going to turn you into a vampire."

"Why?" she screeched.

"You might think living forever is glamorous but you would have to drink blood. Human blood," I pointed out, trying to make her see that it really wasn't all that it was said to be "Being a vampire is a curse. You might be ready to throw your family out of a window but do you really want to do that to your own mother?"

Rose shrugged "If you can control it then it shouldn't be too hard."

"Are you joking?" I gaped "I'm over a thousand years old." Before I could say anything else, I shook my head "You know what? I'm done with this discussion. I'm not going to turn you into a vampire just because you think that it will solve everything. It won't." With that, I stalked the rest of the way towards the Tardis and unlocked the door. The fact that Rose thought it would help matters if she was turned was laughable. It also proved that she never listened to me whenever I told stories about my past. Most of them, I told to the Doctor but there were a few that Rose must have overheard. Especially at the beginning when Jack was still there. I missed Jack. He always knew what to say… The Doctor said that he stayed behind to help rebuild the Earth but there was something in his tone. Something that practically screamed bullshit to me.


	6. The Girl in the Fireplace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the longest chapter I've written for this story but it did turn out longer than I expected, so that's something, right?
> 
> I'm really happy that you liked the idea of Rose wanting to be turned. It's going to be a regular discussion that's going to happen between her and Tyra. After all, Rose would do everything to stay with the Doctor, right?
> 
> There's more Mickey/Tyra friendship and Tyra/Doctor interaction going on, so I hope you'll like it.
> 
> About when the Doctor and Tyra will get together. It's still going to be a bit. So far they're friends... Maybe that will change soon though. I guess you'll have to wait and see xD
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"Hey," Mickey greeted quietly, sitting down next to me. I was currently curled up by the Tardis doors, looking out into space. As far as I was aware, Rose was still sleeping and the Doctor was around somewhere, either breaking something or reading.

I turned my head to the side, looking at the boy "Hey. What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," he shrugged "I'm just… I'm finally here. Maybe now…"

"Mickey," I sighed, shifting to angle my body towards him. He didn't even have to say it because it was obvious what he was thinking "I can tell you this. You don't need Rose. Don't throw away this." I gestured outside "Just because you think you can get her back. Enjoy being here, enjoy seeing what the world has, had and will have to offer."

Mickey blinked and started grinning "Sometimes I actually forget how old you are. It's only philosophical shit like this that makes it obvious."

"Why thank you," I snorted "But I'm serious. You are so much better than this. I've seen it time and time again."

"The Doctor didn't," he pointed out.

I leaned my head against his shoulder, throwing a quick glance back to see the Time Lord leaning against the doorway, watching us quietly "Oh, he did. Trust me. Even he couldn't be that oblivious. He just enjoys messing with you."

"But why?"

"My brothers are the same way," I told him "They bicker like there's no tomorrow – or at least Kol does and Nik joins in but at the end of the day, we're still family. We go to the end of the world to protect each other. Always and Forever, Mickey."

Mickey frowned "But you said that you haven't spoken to your siblings in a while."

"Even though I'm mad at Nik and Elijah for what they did to me and the others… If any of them were in serious trouble, I would drop everything. After a thousand years it's hard to care sometimes but the bond between my siblings and I… It's something special. There are ups and downs but every family has those. Our fights are just a bit more… violent."

"How many siblings do you have again?"

I leaned my head back, resting it against the wooden doorframe "Five. Four brothers and a sister."

"That is a lot. I'm a little jealous of you for having siblings," the boy admitted with a small grin.

I snorted "Don't be. Siblings are a menace. I don't know how it is to have younger siblings but having older ones is a pain. You can never do stuff without at least one of them trying to get into your business. And the number of times any of my brothers stopped men from even looking at me or my sister… It was funny on occasion but sometimes. Well, having them run off everyone you're interested in is…"

"Sad," Mickey murmured "That means that you never found your happy end."

"What is that exactly?" I laughed with a shake of the head "Vampires don't get happy endings… It all ends in pain and suffering and blood."

It was then that I heard clothes ruffling behind me "I think you're wrong," the Doctor pointed out quietly, walking over to join Mickey and me by the doors "You just have to believe that you'll find the person you're meant to be with eventually."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes "You're one to talk."

"I may not be the prime example," the Time Lord grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly "But I'm not saying that there's not a happy end out there for everyone. If it were easy to find, what would make it special, hm?"

"You're so cheesy," I snorted, a grin stealing its way onto my face "What? You expecting a damsel to save from an evil dragon?"

The Doctor shrugged "Well, you made a good damsel in distress a couple of times."

I pouted, crossing my arms "Did not. I got out of those situations by myself, thank you very much."

"Oh yeah?" the Time Lord teased.

Mickey started laughing at us "You two are ridiculous. If I didn't know any better I would say that you're in love."

"Anyway," I drawled, linking my arm with Mickey's "This guy here seems to think he's a tin dog. Anything to say about that?"

"Ty…"

I shook my head and glared at the Doctor warningly "Nope. I'm not going to leave you thinking that you're not important, Mick."

"She's right," the Doctor admitted slowly "I'm not going to say it often but you're brilliant in your own right."

Mickey blinked at the Doctor in shock and turned to me "How did you do that?"

"I'm awesome that way," I grinned "It was long overdue. Plus, I hate how you've always been shoved aside… It's not something that I would want my best friend to feel."

"I thought I was your best friend," the Time Lord pouted.

I patted his shoulder in mock comfort "You're my bestest friend who takes me to see the universe."

"I'll take it," the Doctor agreed with a hurried nod "Even if that wasn't a word."

"Just like 'the Doctor' isn't a name?" I questioned.

"Hey, Ty?" Mickey spoke up, drawing my attention back to him "Can you bring me back to my room? I think I should at least try to sleep and I have no clue how to get back to my room."

I tilted my head at him and nodded "Sure. Sleep is good."

As soon as we were out of the console room and Mickey was sure that the Time Lord couldn't hear us anymore, he turned to me "You two really get along great, don't you?"

"Yeah," I smiled lightly "I mean, we've been getting along for a while but since he regenerated… I don't know. He tries to include me more in the adventures as well."

Mickey nodded "Hey, what did Rose want to talk to you?"

I glanced over at him and shook my head "It doesn't matter."

"It clearly annoyed you enough to disappear," he pointed out "Sarah Jane wanted to say goodbye."

"Rose asked me to turn her so she could stay with the Doctor forever," I muttered, not willing to let the conversation go on for much longer.

Mickey froze "She did what?"

"You heard me."

"I take it you said no," the boy sighed, running a hand over his head.

I scoffed "Of course, I said no. She might think it's a good solution but that comes from the girl who has been calling me a monster ever since she found out what I was."

"I get it, I really do," Mickey nodded.

"Here's your room," I pointed to the door "Go to bed, Mickey."

The next morning, I was walking out of the Tardis behind Mickey and Rose. The boy was looking around excitedly "It's a spaceship," he cheered "Brilliant. I got a spaceship on my first go."

"It looks kind of abandoned," Rose pointed out "Anyone on board?"

I was about to step to the Doctor's side when I tripped over a piece of equipment that was lying on the ground "Nah, nothing here," the Time Lord waved off "Well, nothing dangerous. Well, not that dangerous. You know what, I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous."

"So what's the date? How far have we gone?" the blonde questioned.

The Doctor hummed "About three thousand years into your future, give or take." He found a light switch on a console, causing part of the ceiling to show the stars outside "Fifty-first century. Diagmar Cluster. You're a long way from home, Mickey. Two and a half galaxies."

I laughed "Mickey, meet space. Your story only just began."

"It's so realistic," Mickey gushed.

"Of course, it is," I shook my head "It is real after all."

The Doctor tilted his head "Dear me, had some cowboys in here. Got a ton of repair work going on. Now, that's odd. Look at that." He ran his hand over some displays "All the warp engines are going. Full capacity. There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe but we're not moving… So where's all that power going?"

"Where'd all the crew go?" Rose frowned.

"Good question," the Time Lord pointed "No life readings on board."

It was then that a smell reached my nose. Faint at first but it slowly got stronger "Doctor?"

"Well," Rose cut me off, her voice holding a sarcastic tone "We're in deep space. They didn't just nip out for a quick fag."

"Doctor? That smell," I murmured, my eyes straying in the direction of the corridor "It smells like…"

Mickey inhaled loudly "Sunday roast, definitely."

"It smells like cooking flesh," I corrected quietly "Human flesh and blood."

The Time Lord grabbed my shoulders "Are you sure?"

"I should think so, yes," I shrugged "But I couldn't tell you anything else."

"Well, then," the Doctor looked down "Let's go and find out what's happening." He used the console to open a door behind us. Inside the room, the far wall was panelled and contained a blazing fire in an ornate fireplace. It sort of reminded me of the castle Nik owned in France. It was a chateau that was surprisingly small for something Niklaus owned but I loved staying there "There's something you don't see in your average spaceship. Eighteenth century. French. Nice mantle." The Time Lord knocked on the mantle "Not a hologram. It's not even a reproduction. This actually is an eighteenth-century French fireplace." He crouched down looking into the flames "Double sided. There's another room through there."

Rose was standing by a porthole, peaking out "There can't be. That's the outer hull of the ship. Look." Mickey went to join her, blinking at the view.

"Hello," the Doctor greeted, sounding surprised. I turned back to see him speaking to a young girl who was kneeling by the fire on the other side of the fireplace.

The girl – who was looking vaguely familiar blinked "Hello?"

"What's your name?" the Time Lord asked.

"Reinette." Reinette? As in Reinette Poisson? That would make this the early… eighteenth century. Paris, most likely."

The Doctor smiled "Reinette, that's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?"

"In my bedroom," the girl pointed out. I grinned behind the Doctor's back at her 'duh' tone.

"And where is your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"

I put my hand on the Doctor's shoulder "Paris." I nodded at the young child "Hello, Reinette."

"She's right," Reinette murmured, giving me a small, nervous smile.

"Paris, right," the Time Lord hummed.

Reinette shifted, getting more comfortable "Monsieur, Madame, what are you doing in my fireplace?"

"Oh, just a routine fire check," the Doctor lied… badly. He lied badly "Can you tell me what year it is?"

"Of course I can," Reinette huffed "Seventeen hundred and twenty-seven."

The Doctor grinned "Right, lovely. One of my favourites. August is rubbish though… Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for the help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night, night."

Reinette waved "Goodnight, Monsieur, Madame."

As soon as she was gone, Mickey stepped up to us "You said it was the fifty-first century," he accused, staring at the Doctor."

"And outside it probably is," I shrugged, leaning against the wall of the spaceship.

The Doctor nodded, turning to look at Mickey "I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe. I think we just found the hole… Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink."

"What's that?"

"No idea," the Time Lord grinned sheepishly "Just made it up. Didn't want to say magic door."

I coughed. From what I knew about the Doctor, he didn't believe in magic and as far as I was aware, he had no idea that there were actual witches and werewolves running around. I could be wrong about that since he obviously knew about vampires… Rose crossed her arms "And on the other side of the magic door is France in 1727?"

"Well," the Doctor shrugged "She was speaking French. Right period French, too."

Mickey made a noise in that back of his throat "She was speaking English, I heard her."

"That's the Tardis," the blonde cut in "Translates for you."

"Even French?"

"Even French," I patted him on his shoulder "Although… I heard French. Is that because I can speak it?"

The Doctor nodded "Yeah. The Tardis only translates what you don't understand."

"Handy," I hummed.

"Gotcha," the Doctor called out. He pressed something on the fireplace that caused it to rotate.

Rose ran forward, trying to get to him before he disappeared "Doctor."

I tilted my head from where I was standing, trying to listen in on what was going on behind the fireplace. The voices were just quiet enough so the others couldn't hear " _It's okay,_ " the Doctor whispered gently " _Don't scream. It's me. It's the fireplace man. Look. We were talking just a moment ago. I was in your fireplace._ "

Reinette's voice was faint and a little incredulous when she answered " _Monsieur, that was weeks ago. That was months._ "

"What's going on?" Rose demanded, pacing in front of the mantle.

"Shh," I hushed her, trying to concentrate on the events that were happening in eighteenth-century France.

" _Really?_ " the Doctor frowned in surprise " _Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in._ "

" _Who are you? And what are you doing here?_ " Reinette asked.

I tilted my head when the irritating ticking noise started to get louder " _Okay, that's scary,_ " the Doctor murmured, sounding as if he was standing closer to the fireplace.

" _You're scared of a broken clock?_ " Reinette scoffed lightly.

The Doctor hummed " _Just a bit scared, yeah. Just a little tiny bit. Because, you see, if this clock's broken – and it's the only clock in the room, then what's that?"_ He paused, listening to the mysterious ticking noise " _Because, you see, that's not a clock. You can tell by the resonance. Too big. Six feet, I'd say. The size of a man._ "

When the young girl spoke next, her voice was a faint whisper, betraying her fear " _What is it?_ "

"What's going on?" Rose demanded, staring at me "What's happening. Why is the Doctor still over there?"

Mickey looked back at us "You can really hear what's going on over there?"

"Yes," I nodded "He's with Reinette. There's something going on. Now, hush."

" _Now, let's think,_ " the Doctor spoke up " _If you were a thing that ticked and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, the first thing you do, break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? You might start to wonder if you're really alone. Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge._ " The sound of the sonic could be heard before a faint clatter sounded " _Reinette,"_ the Doctor breathed, a mix of shock and wonder colouring his tone " _Don't look round._ _You, stay exactly where you are. Hold still, let me look…_ _You've been scanning her brain. What, you've crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?_ "

" _I don't understand,_ " Reinette whispered, her voice shaking " _It wants me? You want me?"_

" _Not yet,_ " a robotic voice droned " _You are incomplete._ "

I mouthed "Incomplete?" to myself in confusion and looked over to where Rose was trying to find the button the Doctor had pressed earlier.

" _Incomplete?_ " the Doctor unknowingly repeated " _What's that mean, incomplete? You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, incomplete?"_

" _Monsieur, be careful,_ " Reinette called out.

The Doctor retreated a few steps, coming closer to the mantle again " _Just a nightmare, Reinette, don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares… Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?_ "

There was a sound that reminded me of metal hitting wood or something of that sort before Reinette's voice floated towards me again " _What do monsters have nightmares about?_ "

" _Me._ " I quickly pulled Rose away from the fireplace as the Doctor activated the mechanism again, causing him and a… clockwork android to appear on our side.

"Doctor," the blonde exclaimed in surprise.

The Time Lord grabbed a tube from a nearby rack and fired the content over the android. Mickey whistled when it seized up "Excellent," he laughed "Ice gun."

"Fire extinguisher," the Doctor corrected, throwing the tube to Mickey.

Rose frowned at the android "Where did that thing come from?"

"Here."

Mickey glanced at the clothes while I walked around it, studying the intricate design of the clothing "So, why is it dressed like that?" the boy questioned.

"Field trip to France," the Time Lord shrugged "Some kind of basic camouflage protocol. Nice needlework, shame about the face." He removed the face to reveal clockwork inside the head "Oh, you are beautiful. No, really, you are. You're gorgeous. Look at that… Space-age clockwork. I love it. I've got chills," he rambled "Listen, seriously, I mean this from the hearts and – by the way – count those. It would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you. But that won't stop me." At that moment, the android suddenly beamed away, causing the Doctor to curse "Short range teleport. Can't have gone far. Could still be on board."

Rose tilted her head "What is it?"

The Doctor jabbed his finger at her and then swung around to Mickey and me "Don't go looking for it."

"Where are you going?" the blonde demanded.

"Back in a sec," the Doctor grinned, using the fireplace again.

I tilted my head, a grin stealing its way onto my face when I heard the Doctor talking to an older Reinette. Rose snapped her fingers in front of my face "What's going on?"

"Hm?" I blinked, slapping her hand away from me "Oh, a woman is flirting with the Doctor. Well, technically it's Reinette flirting…"

Mickey frowned "Isn't Reinette a child?"

"Not anymore, apparently," I shrugged "She seems to be older now. Well on her way of being Madame de Pompadour."

Rose glared at the fireplace with a huff and hefted one of the fire extinguishers up like a big gun. Mickey reached out his hand to her "He said not to look for it."

"I don't care," the blonde snapped, storming off.

I exchanged a look with Mickey and hurried after her "Rose. I really think you should stay here."

"Why should I?"

"Because those things could be dangerous," I pointed out "Plus, the Doctor doesn't like it when we wander off."

Rose stopped in her tracks and just when I thought she would listen to me, she pushed her hands out, catching me in the chest "Stop thinking you know more about the Doctor than I do. You're just a selfish bitch."

"Why exactly am I selfish?" I questioned, trying my hardest to stay calm "Because I won't turn you? Because the Doctor talks to me about his past? Pray tell me, Rose."

"You just want the Doctor for yourself," she hissed, glaring angrily "That's why you don't want me to be a vampire."

I shook my head in exasperation "If you so desperately want to be a vampire then go and find yourself another one. I am not going to turn you because of some misguided attempt at giving the Doctor forever. Also, he's my friend," I pointed out "That's all."

"Then at least tell me where I can find another vampire," the blonde demanded.

"Just… stop, alright?" I sighed tiredly "Turning into a vampire isn't going to make you feel any better. Just… Do yourself a favour and leave it alone."

With those words, I turned around, walking back to where the Tardis was. I was so done with the blonde and her nagging. First, she called me a monster every time and now she wanted to be one? I knew that she had a crush on the Doctor but throwing away her life for that? It was the wrong choice. Despite Rose's behaviour, I actually respected her mother and there was no way that I would cause Jackie to lose her daughter… Rose was just immature enough to have problems controlling her bloodlust should she be turned. There was also the sire bond that I really didn't want to deal with. I did turn a couple of people in my lifetime but compared to the number of people my siblings turned, I was very low in the numbers.

It was several hours later when I walked into the Chinese garden that I saw the Doctor. He was curled up in the pavilion, staring at a piece of paper. I knelt down next to him, close enough to bring him comfort "Are you alright?"

"No," he murmured, leaning his head onto my shoulder "I wanted to take her to see the stars…"

"Who?" I frowned "Reinette?" He nodded, staring down at the letter again "May I?" When the Time Lord handed it over, I glanced down, wrapping my other arm around his shoulders.

' _My dear Doctor. The path has never seemed more slow, and yet I fear I am nearing its end. Reason tells me that you and I are unlikely to meet again, but I think I shall not listen to reason. I have seen the world inside your head, and know that all things are possible. Hurry though, my love. My days grow shorter now, and I am so very weak. God speed, my lonely angel.'_

"I'm sorry," I whispered, running my hand through his hair "Losing people is never a pleasant experience."

The Doctor shifted, leaning against me some more "Can you tell me a story? I – I just want to focus on something else…"

"Sure," I shrugged "What kind of story do you want to hear?"

"Tell me about your twin brother?" he asked, looking up at me with a puppy dog expression.

I sighed. I didn't like talking about Henrik but… For him? I think I could make an exception "Alright. Henrik is a little bit older than me. I was never told how much but… yeah. Despite us being twins, he took his role as older brother very seriously." I cracked a grin at that "He loved trying to boss me around, saying that I should listen to him because he's older than me. Our siblings would always laugh at him but… He was loved by all of us. Henry was the light that drew us together. When he died… It was like that light had gone out. I was closest to Kol, Henrik and Finn… The three of us found out later that Nik, Elijah and Rebekah made a vow. Always and Forever. It was always the three of them together with Henrik against the rest of us. Don't get me wrong, I love them all but back then… I could barely function. Henry had just died and I was so lost. That's why I'm really grateful that I met you, Doctor. I told you this before but you showed me that the world – no matter how dark it seemed – holds light… The light that I thought I lost."

"I'm really glad that you think so," he murmured "Sometimes it's hard to see the good things…"

I nodded "But when you do see them… They're worth it. Will you tell me something about your childhood? Only if you're up for it, though."

"If you tell me more about your parents," the Time Lord argued back "You said they weren't the best people and from your stories, your father seems like a bastard…"

"He is," I muttered, hesitating for a moment. Talking about my siblings was well and good but I didn't like mentioning my parents. It was their fault that we broke apart… Specifically, father's fault. Had he not hunted us… "Alright. If you tell me about your childhood, I'll tell you more about my parents."

The Doctor sat up, his eyes losing some of the sadness "Deal." He paused for a moment, thinking "Where to start… I had a friend growing up. We were the best of friends for the longest time. Koschei and I – I still remember how we ran through the fields… Before we started the Academy everything was alright. But… As initiation, we had to look into the Untempered Schism, a hole in the Time Vortex." He explained how things changed, going through the Academy and eventually running away from Gallifrey.

"So… Koschei called himself the Master? Like you called yourself the Doctor?" I questioned with a small frown on my face. The fact that they got to choose their names was so different but it was a system as well. At least, you got to choose the name you were going to be stuck with.

"Yes. The day you graduate, you get to choose the name you want to be known by," the Doctor nodded.

I hummed "That sounds interesting."

"So basically, you have your name – the one that you get at birth which you only share with your spouse, the name you use during the Academy and the name you choose for yourself."

"Did you ever tell anyone your real name?" I questioned.

The Doctor shook his head "No. My wife wanted me to but… I don't know. It felt wrong."

"Well, maybe you'll still find someone?" I offered "After all, the universe is big."

"Hm," the Time Lord shrugged "I'm not so sure about that." He shook his head "Anyway, enough about me now. It's your turn."

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the wooden structure. I really liked this place… It was calming and just… amazing "I told you a little about my father already… My mother was – Well, she liked to pretend that she was caring. I'm honestly not sure how much was an act. Whenever my father beat me or Nik or Kol… She looked away. She never did anything to help us and after Henrik… Apparently, it was for our protection. My parents wanted us to be strong enough to fight against the wolves and… This happened. She also hurt Nik… I think I told you about him being my half-brother before, right? His father was a werewolf – one of the men from the village."

"Werewolves aren't…" the Doctor trailed off "Never mind."

"If there are vampires, there can be werewolves as well. It's just different from the myths. A werewolf is born – it's part of the bloodline. To unlock your wolf side, you have to kill someone though. The first time Nik killed a man… Well, you can guess what happened then. I think it was father and Elijah who found him and… Father didn't – He… He forced my mother to bind Nik's wolf. Not that she put up too much of a fuss. I think just after we turned, she wanted to kill us. When she failed, father started hunting us. He was obsessed with killing Nik. If that isn't grounds for 'Parent of the Year' Award, I don't know what is," I chuckled, blinking back the tears. It was their fault that we broke more than we should have… Their fault that Nik became who he was. Just… Their fault.

The Time Lord wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me against his side "Your parents are idiots if they can't see you for who you are. I met your brother and he honestly doesn't seem too bad. You're not monsters, Ty. Not you, not your brothers or anyone. The only people who are the monsters are the ones who hurt you."

"I think," I murmured, hiding my face in his chest "I think I'm actually starting to believe that… Thank you."


	7. Rise of the Cybermen

"And that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes," the Doctor laughed, causing me to roll my eyes. Rose and he had been droning on about previous adventures for what felt like hours already "Do you remember? The way she looked at you… And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out."

Rose burst into laughter, nodding her head "I thought I was going to get frazzled."

"Yeah. One minute she's standing there and the next minute, roar," the Time Lord mimicked.

Mickey looked from the man to Rose and then to me "Yeah… Where was that, then? What happened?"

"Trust me, Mickey," I spoke up for the first time, thoroughly annoyed at the two others for baiting Mickey "You don't want to know. In fact, I don't want to know. Can you just shut up and be done with it?"

"Someone is pissy today," Rose muttered, looking at me with narrowed eyes. She leaned closer to the Doctor, trying to prove a point or something. The blonde had been doing that ever since I told her I wouldn't turn her. Not that it mattered to me. It was surprising how often I was telling people that the Doctor was only a friend. Sure, he was an amazing man and everything but I liked him as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. If Rose thought she could make me jealous… That was not the way to go.

The Doctor looked at Mickey, seeing him pressing a button "Er, what're you doing that for?"

"Because you told me to," the boy pointed out, getting pissed off. Both guys had been more or less getting along these past few adventures but I had a feeling that was about to change. Sometimes the Doctor was too thick to be real…

"When was that?" the Time Lord frowned in confusion.

Mickey raised an eyebrow "About half an hour ago."

"Er," the Doctor winced "You can let go now."

"Guys, calm down," I cut in "Mickey, you know that he's an idiot. Just ignore it."

The Doctor huffed, crossing his arms "I'm not an idiot. I was… er… I was calibrating. I know exactly what I'm doing." As if the universe had heard him, the time rotor blew up as soon as he had finished his sentence.

"What's happened?" Rose coughed.

The Doctor was running around the console, staring at the readings in shock "The Time Vortex is gone. That's impossible. It's just gone. Brace yourself! We're going to crash." The Tardis came to a sudden stop, throwing all of us around. I groaned when I hit my head on one of the corals with a strength that would have probably broken my neck had I been human "Everyone alright? Tyra? Rose? Mickey?"

"I'm fine," Mickey replied instantly "I'm okay. Sorry. Yeah."

"Tyra?"

I let out another groan, massaging my neck for a moment "I'm okay."

"She's dead," the Doctor breathed, looking at the console sadly "The Tardis is dead."

Rose moved towards him, placing a hand on his arm "Can't you fix it?"

"There's nothing to fix," he shook his head "She's perished. The last Tardis in the universe. Extinct."

"We can get help, yeah?" the blonde asked.

The Doctor shot her a deadpan look "Where from?"

I carefully climbed to my feet, watching Mickey walk towards the door in curiosity "What are you doing?" I questioned quietly.

"Well, we've landed," Rose pointed out with a shrug "We've got to be somewhere."

"We fell out of the Vortex… through the void… into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place," the Doctor explained, his voice thick "The silent realm. The lost dimension."

Mickey opened the door. I don't think I would have let him if I hadn't seen the light through the door… "Otherwise known as London," the boy called back "London, England, Earth… Hold on." He picked up a discarded newspaper "First of February this year. Not exactly far-flung, is it?"

"So this is London?" the Doctor asked, having noticed something that I only saw several moments later. I blinked at the sheer amount of Zeppelins in the sky. That definitely wasn't normal.

"Yep," Mickey nodded.

I rolled my eyes "Mickey…"

"Your city," the Doctor continued, gesturing for me to be silent.

"That's the one," the boy agreed.

The Time Lord glanced up at the sky for a moment "Just as we left it."

"Bang on."

"And that includes the Zeppelins?" the Doctor asked, pointing up.

Mickey's head snapped up and he gaped in surprise "What the hell?"

A massive airship passed overboard "That's beautiful," Rose whispered.

"Okay," Mickey blinked "So it's London with a big international Zeppelin festival."

The Doctor took a deep breath, looking at us "This is not your world."

"Not our world… How?" I asked, my eyes narrowed.

"The date's the same," Mickey murmured, throwing his arm around my shoulders "It's parallel, right? Am I right? Like a parallel Earth where they've got Zeppelins. Am I right? I'm right, aren't I?"

The Doctor shrugged "Must be."

"So, a parallel world…?" Rose frowned in confusion.

Mickey rolled his eyes "It's as if you've never seen any Sci-Fi movies ever. Geez… Like an alternative to our world where everything's the same but a little bit different, like, I don't know, traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected."

"Wait, you're talking about the multiverse theory?" I asked, the pieces clicking together.

It was then that Rose shouldered past me "And he's still alive," she murmured, staring at an advert that was right behind me. It was for Vitex Lite starring… Pete Tyler. That could only end in disaster. Honestly, I wasn't even sure whether I wanted to know if my siblings and I were alive in this world. I – It would only hurt to find out that they died a thousand years ago or whatever happened to them "A parallel world and my dad's still alive."

"Don't look at it, Rose," the Time Lord warned "Don't even think about it. This is not your world."

"But he's my dad and…" She touched the advert, triggering a short film.

" _Trust me on this,_ " the Pete on the screen said.

Rose shook her head "Well, that's weird. But he's real."

" _Trust me on this._ "

"He's a success," the blonde smiled sadly "He was always planning these daft little schemes. Health food, drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it."

I winced at the words and muttered under my breath "I distinctively remember you saying the same thing before you ripped a hole into Time and Space to save your father."

"Rose," the Doctor started, his tone serious "If you've ever trusted me then listen to me now. Stop looking at it. Your father's dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is a Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else but not you. You can't see him. Not ever."

" _Trust me on this. Trust me on this. Trust me on this. Trust me on this._ " I rubbed at my head, glaring at the stupid advert. It wasn't helping the matter at all. I looked at Rose, seeing her still mesmerized with the image of her father. Why did I have the feeling that this will end the exact same way the trip to see her father in the past ended? Don't get me wrong… I really liked Pete back then. He was a pretty nice guy but that didn't mean that I liked being eaten by a Reaper.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "I'm going back to the Tardis, see if there's anything I can do. Mickey, keep an eye on Rose."

I looked from Mickey to the Doctor's retreating back "Do you mind if I?"

"Go ahead," the boy smiled "I think he's gonna need a friend. I'll just watch Miss Gloomy here."

I jogged to catch up with the Doctor, looking up at him from the corner of my eye "Are you going to be alright?"

"What are you talking about? I'm always alright," he protested weakly.

"Right," I snorted "Don't mess with me, Doc. I can see that you're not alright."

The Time Lord sighed, tugging at his hair in frustration "It's just… The Tardis is dead. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Don't give up just yet," I shrugged "Who knows… Maybe there's a way?"

He slumped down on the jump seat, burying his face in his hands "I don't think that there's any hope this time around, Ty."

"Well, excuse me," I huffed playfully, nudging his side "Who is the one who told me that there's always hope? Even in the most hopeless of situations."

"This is different though," he murmured.

I raised an eyebrow "How so?"

"It just is."

The Tardis door opened and Mickey stormed in, a pissed off look on his face. I stood up and pressed a hand to his shoulder "What happened?"

"Rose is bloody mental, that's what happened," he snapped before taking a couple of deep breaths "Sorry. She just pissed me off."

I hummed "That seems to be something she can do pretty damn good."

"I told you to keep an eye on her," the Doctor spoke up with a sigh.

Mickey shook his head "She's alright. When I left she was ranting about you not letting her see her father."

"She goes wandering off," the Time Lord grumbled "Parallel world… It's like a gingerbread house. All those temptations calling out."

"Oh, dear," I breathed when Mickey's eyes darkened.

The boy stood up straight, glaring at the Time Lord "Oh, so it's just Rose, then? Nothing out there to tempt me? Or Tyra?"

"Mickey," I spoke up soothingly "It's fine. Calm down…"

The Doctor cut me off "Well, I don't know," he snapped "I can't worry about everything. If I could just get this thing to…" He kicked the console with as much strength as he could.

"Did that help?" Mickey questioned, tilting his head in amusement.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded.

Mickey's grin grew "Did that hurt?"

"Yes," the Time Lord nodded again, rubbing his foot "Ow." He sank down on the seat again "Look, I'm sorry that I'm being crabby but this whole thing is messing with me. We're not meant to be here. The Tardis draws its power from the universe but this is the wrong one. It's like diesel in a petrol engine."

"But I've seen it in comics," Mickey pointed out "People go hopping from one alternate world to another. It's easy."

The Doctor shook his head "Not in the real world. It used to be easy. When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything. You could hop between realities and be home in time for tea." His voice turned sad and I couldn't resist drawing him into a hug, my chin resting on top of his hair "Then they died and took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind."

"Then how did we get here?"

The Doctor shrugged, leaning into me a little bit "I don't know. Accident? Should've been impossible. Now we're trapped." He sat up straighter "What's that?"

I turned my head and grinned "Is that what I think it is?"

"What?" Mickey frowned.

"That, there," the Time Lord pointed "Is that a reflection? It's a light. Is it?"

I crouched down on the grating and looked down "That is a light," I agreed.

"That's all we need," the Doctor laughed in relief "We've got power. We've got power. Ha!" He gently pulled me to the side, taking out part of the grating to get down below the main part of the console "It's alive."

Mickey leaned forward curiously "What is it?"

"It's nothing. It's tiny. One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about and it's clinging to life with one little ounce of reality tucked away inside," the Doctor mumbled.

I coughed "Well, not so insignificant now, is it?"

"Is that enough to get us home?" Mickey questioned.

The Time Lord hummed "Not yet. I need to charge it up."

"We could go outside and lash it up to the National Grid," the boy pointed out.

"Wrong sort of energy," the Doctor sighed "It's got to come from our universe."

I tilted my head "Is there anything we have from our universe?"

"There's me." The Doctor cradled the green light in his hands, blowing on it. The light brightened "I just gave away ten years of my life. Worth every second," he shook his head.

Mickey looked at the power cell and started worrying when it went out "It's going out. Is that okay?"

"It's on a recharging cycle," the Time Lord explained "It'll loop round, power back up and be ready to take us home in… Oh… Twenty-four hours?"

"So that gives us twenty-four hours on a parallel world?" Mickey questioned, glancing at the door eagerly.

The Doctor's face lit up "Shore leave. As long as we keep our heads down. Easy. No problem."

"No problem?" I clarified "Have you met you? I don't even want to know what kind of trouble we're going to get into in the next twenty-four hours."

"I'm not that bad," the Time Lord huffed, walking out of the Tardis doors. We started looking around for Rose, hoping that she hadn't done anything stupid. Then again, it was Rose… "There you are," the Doctor called when he saw the blonde sitting on a bench by the embankment "You alright? No applause. I fixed it. Twenty-four hours, then we're flying to reality. What is it?"

Rose was staring at the phone in her hands "My phone connected. There's this Cybus Network. It finds your phone… It gave me Internet access."

I pulled out my phone, blinking at the Network provider "I've got it too."

"Rose, whatever it says, this is the wrong world," the Doctor tried.

"I don't exist," the blonde burst out, looking up at us.

The Time Lord frowned in confusion "What do you mean?"

"There's no Rose Tyler. I was never born. There's Pete, my dad, and Jackie. He still married mum but they never had kids."

"Give me that phone," the Doctor demanded, holding out his hand. His mood had darkened as soon as Rose started talking about her family in this universe.

Rose looked at his hand "They're rich. They've got a house and cars and everything they want. But they haven't got me… I've got to see him."

I shifted hesitatingly, not sure whether I really wanted to get involved "Rose, I don't think that's a good idea. Remember what happened last…"

"You're just jealous," the blonde burst out, startling all of us "You're jealous that I have a real family and yours hates you."

"Don't ever talk about my family," I told her lowly. At the moment, I was trying really hard not to snap that insignificant girl's neck "You have no fucking idea what you're talking about. I don't give a damn about what you do or don't do but you're going to get someone killed one of these days."

"Enough," the Doctor hissed "Stop acting like children. Both of you. You can't go to see them, Rose."

She crossed her arms firmly "I just want to see him." I rolled my eyes, stepping back to lean against the railing. Honestly, why do I care again? The girl has been nothing but trouble for me… I should just kill her and be done with it "You said twenty-four hours."

"You can't become their daughter," the Doctor pointed out, slowly losing his temper "That's not the way it works. Mickey, tell her."

The boy looked from Rose to me "Twenty-four hours, yeah?" He held out his hand to me and went to turn around.

"Where are you going?"

Mickey shrugged "Well, I can do what I want and so can Tyra."

"I've got the address and everything," Rose spoke up, ignoring Mickey completely as she walked in the opposite direction of where the boy was leading me.

"Stay where you are," the Doctor called out "All of you. Rose, come back here… Mickey, Tyra, come back here right now."

Rose stopped, turning back with red eyes "I just want to see him."

"Yeah," Mickey grumbled under his breath "And we've got things to see."

"Like what?" the Time Lord challenged. I closed my eyes, aware that despite the two of them getting along, the Doctor still wasn't too interested in the young man next to me. Mickey told me about himself in one of our phone calls, about his family and I told him about what I remembered from the wedding he was at as a small child.

Mickey tightened his hand around mine "Well, you don't know anything about me, do you? You're so self-absorbed… I'm just a spare part."

"Mickey…" I spoke up.

"No," he shook his head "The Doctor might be a good man but that doesn't mean that I won't say anything against him."

I squeezed his hand "I was going to say that you did well. Hell, you deserve standing up for yourself and I know that he sometimes forgets that others exist as well but… That's just who he is. Think about it, Mickey. If you live for hundreds of years. How would you turn out?" Actually, I didn't really like how he seemed to be focussed on Rose as much as he was at the moment. The blonde was always running off, not thinking about how it might affect others.

"You aren't like him," he pointed out.

"Oh, trust me. I am so much worse," I smiled sadly "This is the calmest I have been in years. Before I met the Doctor I wouldn't have thought twice about killing someone. I didn't care for anyone, not even myself…" In the time we had been talking, Rose had started walking away, leaving the Doctor to stare after her "Go after her," I called out to him.

"Ty…"

I shook my head "You know that someone needs to keep an eye on her. Mickey and I can take care of ourselves."

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment "Back here in twenty-four hours."

"Yeah," Mickey muttered, watching the Time Lord run off after Rose "If I haven't found something better."

"What about me?" I asked quietly, trying to tear my gaze away from the retreating figure. I might have told him to follow Rose but that didn't mean that I liked it. The blonde was really getting on my nerves. She constantly messed up and while I got that she wanted to see her father last year, this time was just… annoying. I was slightly scared to see what would happen this time while she ran after the man who wasn't actually her father.

Mickey shook his head "At least he is interested in you and your life."

"Mickey…"

"No. It's fine," he murmured "It's nothing I'm not used to."

I wrapped my arms around the boy's waist "Ignore him." I leaned my head against his shoulder "No matter how human he looks, he isn't and I feel like that shows in moments like these."

"Why are you always protecting him?" Mickey asked.

I shrugged "Maybe because sometimes I wish that someone would have done it for me. I don't know… He really isn't that bad. He's just… oblivious most of the time."

We walked past a vacant lot and up to an army roadblock "Are we alright to get past?" Mickey questioned, my arm still around his waist.

"Yeah," the soldier shrugged "No bother. Curfew doesn't start till ten."

Mickey blinked "There's a curfew?" I winced at the oblivious tone of his voice. Sure, I didn't know about that either but that didn't mean that I would tell someone this openly that I had no idea what was going on.

"Course there is," the soldier frowned in confusion "Where you been living? Up there with the toffs?" He jerked his head up to the Zeppelins.

"I wish," Mickey laughed before pulling me past the roadblock "See you."

I glanced over my shoulder and then back to Mickey "Where are we going anyway?"

"My gran," he murmured "I want to see if my gran is here."

"She raised you, didn't she?" I asked. He told me about it before but I wasn't sure whether I remembered it right.

Mickey hummed and rattled the knocker of a house. I smiled lightly when a voice called from inside "Who's that there?" The door opened, revealing an old Indian woman with a white stick and a pair of ear pods "Who is it? I know you're there. Shame on you, tricking an old lady. I've got nothing worth stealing and don't think I'm going to disappear. You're not going to take me."

I couldn't quite hold back the laugh and nudged Mickey "Oh, I know where you got your attitude from now."

"Hi," the boy smiled sheepishly, ignoring what I said.

Mickey's parallel gran tilted her head "Is that you?"

"It's me," Mickey replied quietly "I came home."

"Rickey?"

I muffled my snort in Mickey's shoulder. Figures that his name in this universe would be the same name the Doctor teased him with all the time "It's Mickey," my friend corrected automatically.

"I know my own grandson's name," the old woman huffed "It's Rickey. Now, come here." They hugged for a long moment.

"Okay," Mickey shrugged "I'm Rickey. Of course, I am. Rickey, that's me." His parallel gran slapped him "Ow."

The old woman glared in the direction Mickey was standing in "You stupid boy. Where have you been? And who is the girl with you?"

"Ow," Mickey protested "Stop hitting me."

"It's been days and days," the woman murmured, the fight leaving her slowly "I keep hearing all these stories. People disappearing off the streets. There's nothing official on the download but there're all these rumours and – and whispers. I thought that God had disappeared you."

Mickey swallowed, blinking back the tears and wrapped his arms around me, taking all the comfort that I could give him. Not that I minded. That's what friends were for anyway "That carpet on the stairs, I told you to get it fixed. You're going to fall and break your neck." I squeezed his hand comfortingly, remembering the story he told me. He was still blaming himself for what happened even though it really wasn't his fault. He couldn't have known.

"Well, you get it fixed for me," the old woman pointed out.

Mickey sighed "I should have done way back. I guess I'm kind of useless."

"Now, I never said that," his parallel grandmother denied.

I rolled my eyes "Yeah. You try and tell him. I've tried for months now…"

"Who are you then?" the woman asked "Are you Rickey's girlfriend?"

I looking up at Mickey with a smirk, causing him to pale "Don't you dare. Ty… No."

"We're friends," I told the woman "I – I had a bit of a hard time recently and Mi – Rickey has been helping me through some things."

"How about a nice sit-down and a cup of tea?" the woman offered "We could catch up. Do you have time?"

Mickey looked at me and I shrugged in agreement. We had twenty-four hours after all. Correction… Twenty-three hours and around twenty minutes "For you, I've got all the time in the world."

The old woman snorted "Oh, you say that but it's all talk. It's those new friends of yours. I don't trust them."

"What friends are they?" the boy inquired.

"Don't pretend you don't know," Mickey's parallel gran chided "You've been seeing them. Missus Chan told me. Driving about all helter-skelter in that van? Is your new friend part of your little group as well?"

I raised my eyebrow "What van?" Just as the words left my mouth, I whirled around, seeing a van do a handbrake turn towards us.

"Get inside," the older woman hurried, trying to get a hold of Mickey.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," a blonde man hissed, pushing Mickey into the van. He looked at me before grasping my arm, pushing me in as well. I could have easily resisted but I would rather be with Mickey than having to look for him "Ricky, you were the one who told us you don't contact your family because it puts them in danger."

Mickey looked at the man blankly for a moment before he nodded "Yeah. Ricky said that. Course I did, just testing."

The blond leaned forward "I saw them. I taped them. They went round Blackfriar's gathering up the homeless like the child catcher. They must've took four dozen."

I turned my head to look at the woman in the driver's seat "The vans were hired out to a company called International Electromatics. But I did a protocol search. Turns out that's a dummy company established by guess who?"

"Who?" I frowned.

The two looked at me for a moment "Cybus Industries."

"Well, now we've got evidence," the blond man pointed out.

"Bad news is, they've arrested Thin Jimmy. So that just leaves you."

Mickey threw me a helpless look but I just shrugged in confusion. I had no idea what was going on "Leaves me what?"

"The Number One," the man pointed out "Top of the list. London's Most Wanted."

"Okay, cool." He froze, gaping "Say that again?"

I snorted at his expression, ignoring the looks I was shot by the other three in the car "God, what the hell have you been doing?"

"You didn't tell her?" the blond asked, causing Mickey to shake his head "Damn. Okay, this is getting somewhat complicated." The van stopped and we all filtered out "There's a light on. There's someone inside the base. Mrs Moore, we've got visitors." Both the man and the woman pulled out guns "One, two, three, go."

A familiar figure is inside the room and I blinked, turning to look at Mickey before looking back to the figure "Now, that's just creepy."

"What the hell are you doing?" Ricky demanded, looking at his friends.

The blond man frowned "What're you doing there?"

Ricky snorted "What am I doing here? What am I doing there?" The guns turned to us and I subtly shifted to stand in front of Mickey, shielding him in case they decided to shoot first, ask questions later "Who are you?"

"Why should we tell you?" I asked, making sure to keep Mickey behind me "You were the ones who practically kidnapped us."

"Well, he looks like Ricky," the blond man pointed out.

I raised an eyebrow "That doesn't mean anything. You still kidnapped us."

"Ty…" Mickey murmured "It's fine."

When the three made to take a step forward, I crouched down a little "Touch me, I dare you. You won't live for another day."

"Tyra," Mickey repeated "Just let them check us out. It's not worth the hassle."

I stiffened, looking from my friend to the others and back before rolling my eyes "Fine. Do not piss me off," I warned them with a glare.

Within ten minutes the Mickey was stripped and tied to a chair. I had been ready to protest but for some reason, Mickey didn't care much about that. When they tried to touch me, I wrapped my arm around the blond – Jake's throat, making sure that my grip was firm but not too tight. I was done with the Scooby Doo Gang and it showed. Before I could do anything else, I stiffened, falling to the ground in a gaze "Tie her up. She won't be a problem now," the woman murmured, holding some kind of stun gun or something.

"Ty," Mickey called out "Leave her alone."

In the end, they decided it was better to just get this over with as fast as they could. Jake was scanning Mickey quickly while I was blinking away the black dots in my vision. "He's clean. No bugs."

"But this is state of the scale," Ricky murmured, walking around his double "He's flesh and blood. How did that happen?"

Mrs Moore shrugged "Well, it could be that Cybus Industries have perfected the science of human cloning… or your father had a bike."

"And your name is Mickey, not Ricky."

Mickey nodded "Mickey. Dad was Jackson Smith. Used to work at the key cutters in Clifton's Parade. Went to Spain, never came back."

Ricky scowled "But that's my dad. So we're brothers?"

"Be fair," Jake chuckled, sitting down to watch me nervously "What else could it be?"

"I don't know," Ricky exclaimed, throwing his hands up "But he doesn't just look like me, he is exactly the same. There's something else going on here, Jake."

Mickey looked up at his other self "So, who are you lot?"

"We?" Ricky smirked "We are the Preachers. As in Gospel Truth. You see? No earplugs. While the rest of the world downloads from Cybus Industries, we, we have got freedom. You're talking to London's Most Wanted but target Number One is Lumic and we are going to bring him down."

Mickey looked around in disbelief "From your kitchen?"

"Have you got a problem with that?" Ricky glared.

"No," Mickey replied quickly "It's a good kitchen."

I snorted "It's not. What are you? The freaking Scooby Gang?" I tested the ropes around my hands and scoffed lightly "Do you really think these will hold me?" Without hesitation, I ripped the rope, getting up.

"How did you…?" Jake blinked "Those were…"

"Better luck next time," I snorted, really done with their shit. I just wanted to go back to the Tardis and forget this ever happened before I look up my family. There were so many possibilities of what could happen and I was a bit curious. Not enough to endanger anyone but curious nevertheless.

Mrs Moore ignored what was going on and checked the computer "It's an upload from Gemini."

"Who's Gemini?" Mickey questioned.

"Then vans are back," Mrs Moore murmured "They're moving out of Battersea. Looks like Gemini was right. Lumic's finally making a move."

"And we're right behind them," Ricky pointed out "Pack up, we're leaving."

Mickey dragged me along to their van. A lorry drove by their poor excuse of a base and they started following it. Mrs Moore was driving while the other two checked their weapons over quickly. They didn't seem too qualified to use them…

Once they arrived at the location, Ricky and Jake jumped out and I followed. If the Doctor was anywhere close and I could smell him – it was faint but his scent was around – then something bad was bound to happen "I don't know what they're doing," Ricky murmured into his walkie-talkie "But this seems to be the target. Big house, fair bit of money. Now we have got to find a way to get in."

Mrs Moore's voice whispered back "I've identified the address. It belongs to Peter Tyler, the Vitex millionaire."

"Pete Tyler?" Mickey gasped.

I grabbed the device out of Mickey's hand "I'm pretty sure the Doc is still in there, so whatever happens… I'm going in if he doesn't come out with Rose."

"He's listed as one of Lumic's henchmen. A traitor to the state," the woman explained.

Mickey made a wounded noise "But… We've got to get in there. Tyra…"

Ricky groaned "Now, shut it, duplicate. That's what I just said." A ramp was dropped down from the back of the truck "What are they doing?" I flinched when heavy feet marched down the ramp and onto the gravel "What the hell are they?"

"Cybermen," I swallowed "They look like Cybermen. Way more advanced than I have ever seen but… It seems to be them."

Rickey turned to me, for the first time losing the glare "What are they?"

I shook my head "I don't know much. Only what my friend explained… The metal is some kind of battle armour for them. I think he said that they were human?"

"Human?" Jake breathed, his eyes glued to where the Cybermen were matching in.

I tilted my head, trying to hear what was going on inside but I was too far away "Stay here. I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Ricky hissed, holding onto my arm "You can't go in there."

"Are you worried for little old me?" I teased with a small smirk "Don't be. Ask Mickey, he'll explain some things." I crept forward and blurred through a side door without being seen by the metal men.

As soon as I was inside, I heard Rose's voice from somewhere to my left "What are they? Robots?"

"Worse than that," the Doctor muttered.

"Cybermen, right?" I asked, coming to a halt next to him.

He whirled around and looked at me with wide eyes "What are you doing here? Where's Mickey? Are you insane?"

"Do you really think I'd let Mickey come in here?" I frowned "I can defend myself… He can't."

"Who were these people?" an important looking man demanded.

I leaned over to the Doctor "Who's that guy?"

"The President, apparently."

"Not Prime Minister?" I blinked.

The Time Lord shook his head but before he could explain, Rose let out a gasp "They're people?"

"They were," the Doctor mumbled "Until they had their humanity taken away. That's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body with a heart of steel… All emotions removed."

"That sounds kind of gross when you say it like that," I snorted, watching the people around us when a scent reached my nose. It smelled familiar – very familiar. My eyes trailed over the panicking crowd before they reached a small group of people "Doctor… Are they?"

The Time Lord wrapped his arm around my shoulders "They seem to be, yes."

"But how is it possible? They're alive? Like… Human?" I mumbled, staring at my family with a hint of longing. They were all there… Nik, Elijah, Rebekah and even Henrik… I ripped my eyes away from the scene and bit my lip harshly. There was another blonde who seemed to be practically glued to Finn's side. I would have thought that she was his wife if not for the fact that the woman was almost the exact image of my mother. Who was she?

Rose rolled her eyes at my behaviour "Why no emotions?"

The Doctor's arm tightened around me and he sighed "Because it hurts."

"I demand to know, Lumic," the President burst out "These people… Who were they?"

"They were homeless," Lumic replied "And wretched and useless until I saved them and elevated them and gave them life eternal. And now I leave you in their capable hands. Goodnight, sir. Goodnight, Mister President."

One of the Cybermen straightened up "We have been upgraded."

"Into what?" the Doctor asked.

"The next level of mankind," it said "We are Human point two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us."

The President looked at them with sorrow in his eyes "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what's been done to you but listen to me. This experiment ends tonight."

"Upgrading is compulsory," the Cyberman sounded out.

"And if I refuse?"

The Doctor shot forward, trying to get the President to step down "Don't."

"What if I refuse?" the man asked, staring at the Cybermen challengingly.

"I'm telling you, don't," the Time Lord hissed.

The President raised an eyebrow "What happens if I refuse?"

"Then you are not compatible," the Cyberman replied.

The President snorted "What happens then?"

"You will be deleted." The metal man but its hand on the President's neck, electrocuting him. The Time Lord grabbed Rose and dragged me along with the grip he still had on me. All around me the guests were screaming and I could hear the parallel Mikaelsons in the crowd as well. I closed my eyes and took a shuddering breath. They weren't my family. They weren't my family… They had what I didn't… They weren't…

"There's nothing we can do," the Doctor shook his head as soon as we were outside.

Rose tried to get back inside but the Time Lord wrapped his arm around her, letting go of me in the process. I barely realized what was going on since I was still staring at the house "My mum's in there," the blonde protested.

"She's not your mother," the Doctor grumbled "Come on."

A row of Cybermen stopped us from running across the lawn. We turned back to run around the side of the house as Pete Tyler came out through the window in front of us "Quick, quick," Rose hurried.

"Pete, is there a way out?" the Doctor asked the man.

The parallel Pete nodded "The side gates. Who are you? How do you know so much?"

"You wouldn't believe it in a million years," the Time Lord shot back with a grim smile.

More Cybermen cut us off and suddenly two armed figures came running across the lawn in front of the floodlights "Who's that?" Rose frowned.

"Get behind me," Ricky demanded, opening fire on the Cybermen.

I put my hand on the gun and pulled it down "Don't, Ricky. Bullets don't work. The only thing you're achieving is to get us into deeper shit."

"Oh, my God, look at you," Rose breathed, hugging Ricky "I thought I'd never see you again."

I coughed in amusement "Rose, that's not Mickey."

"Rose," Mickey called out, running up from behind "That's not me… That's like the other one."

The Doctor groaned "Oh as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickeys."

"Trust me," I whispered into his ear "Compared to Ricky, I think you're actually going to like Mickey way better. This one is an idiot."

"But there's more of them," Mickey pointed out, looking at the Cybermen.

Rose looked around in fear "We're surrounded."

"Put the guns down," the Doctor commanded "Bullets won't stop them." When Jake went to shoot some more, I plucked the gun out of his hands and threw it down. The Doctor held his hands up "We surrender. Hands up. There's no need to damage us. We're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed.

One of the Cybermen in front of us started talking "You are rogue elements."

"But we surrender," the Doctor called, a hint of panic entering his voice.

"You are incompatible."

The Time Lord stared at the Cyberman "But this is a surrender."

"You will be deleted," it droned.

"But we're surrendering. Listen to me, we surrender."

"You are inferior," the Cyberman spoke up "Men will be reborn as Cyberman but you will perish under maximum deletion." The metal men around us held out their arms, stomping towards our group "Delete. Delete. Delete."


	8. Age of Steel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This. Was. Hard...
> 
> So, I'll try to explain how I align the two timelines. If it doesn't make sense, I'll try again next chapter.
> 
> Alright, so in the next chapter it becomes noticeable but I pulled the Vampire Diaries timeline back a few years, so Season 1 and 2 of Vampire Diaries takes place in 2006/2007 like Doctor Who's Series 2 and 3. That means that the middle of Season 3 (TVD) would be set in Series 4 (DW). I hope that makes sense… It fits best this way.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

I looked at the Doctor's back and then at the Cybermen all around us, the screams from the house getting to her. Sorry, Doctor. I closed my eyes for a moment, running past the metal men and into the building before the others could notice. My eyes darted around, looking around the panicking humans hesitatingly. There! Over in the corner, boxed in by one of the Cybermen, was my parallel siblings. Oh, what to do? I mean, I could save them, right? This wasn't supposed to happen, so it shouldn't matter. I darted forward, grabbing two arms "Come with me," I hissed, shoving them towards the doorway "Go."

"Who are you?" parallel Klaus frowned, eyeing the metal man nervously.

"There's no time for that," I shook my head "Please, just get out of here."

Elijah looked at the other people "You have to help them too."

"I can't," I murmured "It's too late for them." I pulled at the two arms I was still holding. I was in-between them and the Cybermen at all times, making sure they got to the door without any interference. I locked eyes with someone who was being electrocuted "I'm sorry…"

Outside, the six Mikaelsons turned to me "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I frowned, tilting my head.

"You moved faster than you should have," Finn pointed out "How is that possible?"

I shrugged uncomfortably "Does it matter? Just… Get out of here and stay out of trouble." Before I turned to walk away, I froze "And lose the earpods while you're at it."

"Wait," the woman called out. The only person I didn't know "Who are you?"

"My name is Tyra," I told them, running back to where I left the Doctor.

I stepped closer just as the last of the Cybermen got atomised by the golden energy that burst out of the power cell the Doctor had taken from the Tardis. Ricky gaped at the nonexistent remains of the Cybermen "What the hell was that?"

"We'll have that instead," the Doctor called out "Run."

Mickey froze just as Mrs Moore sounded the van's horn "Where's Tyra?"

"I'm here, Mickey," I spoke up, walking towards them from behind them.

Jake blinked pointing from his side to me "How did you get there?"

"Magic," I joked.

"I've got to go back," Pete mumbled, staring at his home "My wife's in there."

The Doctor caught his arm "Anyone inside that house is dead. If you want to help, then don't let her die for nothing." I shifted, trying to remember whether I had seen Tyler's Jackie inside the house. I didn't think so but I was more focused on my parallel family "You've got to come with us right now."

"Come on," Mrs Moore called out in annoyance. She looked over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at us "Get a move on."

I followed Mickey, Ricky and Jake into the van, glancing back at the Doctor and Rose. The Time Lord was trying to pull the other girl to the car and when she wouldn't move, he hissed "Rose, she's not your mother."

"I know," the blonde mumbled.

"Come on."

"Finished chatting," Mrs Moore mocked, starting up the car "Never seen a slower getaway in my life."

As soon as we were away from the house, I relaxed a little. Ricky, on the other hand, clenched his teeth and stared at the Doctor "What was that thing?"

"Little bit of technology from my home," the Time Lord shrugged.

Mickey leaned forward, looking at the power cell "It's stopped glowing. Has it run out?"

"It's on a revitalizing loop," the Doctor told him "It'll charge back up in about four hours."

"Right," Ricky groaned "So, we don't have a weapon anymore."

Jake snorted "Yeah, we've got weapons. Might not be one of those metal things but they're good enough for men like him." His head jerked in the direction of Pete.

"Leave him alone," Rose hissed, immediately jumping to parallel Pete's defence "What's he done wrong?"

I sighed quietly, leaning my head against Mickey's shoulder. "Here we go again," I mumbled. Why couldn't Rose just leave it alone?

"Oh, you know," Jake shrugged, studying the blonde "Just laid a trap that's wiped out the Government and left Lumic in charge."

Pete's head snapped up "If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?"

"Maybe your plan went wrong," Ricky shot back "Still gives us the right to execute you, though."

"Talk about executions," the Doctor spoke up "You'll make me your enemy. And take some really good advice. You don't want to do that."

Ricky raised his eyebrow at me and I nodded with a shrug, causing him to sigh "All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumix since twenty point five."

"Is that true?" Rose asked, looking at her parallel father accusingly.

"Tell them, Mrs M."

The white-haired woman in the driver's seat glanced back before focussing back on the road "We've got a government mole who feeds us information. Lumic's private files, his South American operations, the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week."

Pete's eyes widened "Broadcasts from Gemini?"

"And how do you know that?" Ricky demanded, glaring at the red-haired man.

"I'm Gemini," Pete pointed out "That's me."

Parallel Mickey crossed his arms in disbelief "Yeah, well you would say that."

The older man rolled his eyes "Encrypted wavelength six five seven using binary nine. That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services. What do I get? Scooby-Doo and his gang."

I snorted "Right? They even got the van."

Mickey poked me in the side "No, no, no. But the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said…"

"Mickey, they have no idea what they're doing," I told him, patting his shoulder "It's very obvious if you look."

Jake frowned, looking rather insulted "Thank you?"

"You're welcome," I smirked "Notice that you're not denying anything?"

"Yeah, yeah," the blond man waved off.

Mickey shook his head "But Ricky said that he's London's Most Wanted."

"Yeah, that's not exactly…" Ricky started.

"Not exactly what?" my friend questioned, narrowing his eyes on his copy.

Ricky shifted "I'm London's Most Wanted for parking tickets." The Doctor and I snorted, while Rose was trying to hide her grin.

Pete groaned out loud and hid his face in his hands "Great."

"Yeah," Ricky tried to defend himself "They were deliberate. I was fighting the system. Park anywhere, that's me."

I smirked "Remind you of anyone, Doc?"

"Don't call me that," the Time Lord mumbled "Anyway, I'm the Doctor. If anyone's interested."

"And I'm Rose. Hello."

Pete looked at the two of them "Even better. That's the name of my dog." I looked from him to Rose and to Mickey, trying to keep from bursting into laughter. It was one thing to just not exist in this universe but to be replaced by a dog? That's surprisingly fitting "Still, at least I've got the catering staff on my side."

"Don't forget the Scooby Gang," I pointed out with a grin.

"Shut up, Tyra," Rose glared at me before smiling at her parallel father. I was sure that she had noticed that I was still trying not to laugh at the irony of her being a dog in this universe. It was too good "I knew you weren't a traitor."

Pete raised his eyebrow at the girl, looking a little uncomfortable at her closeness "Why is that, then?"

Rose, obviously realizing that she was sounding crazy just shrugged "I just did."

"They took my wife," Pete pointed out.

"She might still be alive," Rose murmured comfortingly.

The man let out a strangled laugh "That's even worse. Because that's what Lumic does. He takes the living and he turns them into those machines."

"Cybermen," the Doctor corrected "They're called Cybermen. And I'd take those earpods off if I were you. You never know. Lumic could be listening." He took them from the red-haired man and zapped them with his screwdriver "But he's overreached himself. He's still just a businessman. He's assassinated the President. All we need to do is get to the city and inform the authorities. Because I promise you, this ends tonight."

Silence settled over the van and it wasn't long before I started biting my lip "I have a question," I spoke up after a few minutes, looking at Pete.

"Go on," the man gestured, looking vaguely intrigued.

"That family," I started, tugging my hair behind my ear "The Mikaelsons? There was a blonde woman with them. I – Who was she?"

Pete tilted his head "You know the Mikaelsons but not Freya? I'm guessing it's her you're talking about. She's the oldest."

I wrapped my arms around myself. Freya… The reason why my parents moved to the New World. The one who died before I was born. Finn never talked about her much, so I wasn't surprised that I didn't know her "I – Do you know her?"

"Not very well, no. Why do you ask?"

"No reasons, I guess," I mumbled, averting my eyes.

Mickey grabbed my hand, squeezing comfortingly "You alright?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"We're here," Mrs Moore cut in, the car slowing down.

We all climbed out but before I could go to stand with the others, the Doctor caught my arm "Did you get them out alright?" he murmured into my ear.

I froze, staring up at him with wide eyes "Sorry, I – I shouldn't have…"

"Hey," he cut me off "It's alright. Don't worry about it. Are they alright?"

"I think so," I nodded "They were fine when I left." The Doctor wrapped his arm around my shoulders and followed the others.

Jake stared at the people in shock "What the hell?"

"What's going on?" Rose frowned at the zombie-like crowd.

The Doctor closed his eyes "It's the earpods. Lumic's taken control."

"Can't we just, I don't know, take them off?" the blonde girl questioned, reaching out.

"Don't," the Time Lord snapped "Cause a brainstorm. Human race. For such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit." He shook his head in exasperation "Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life."

Jake whistled lowly from around the corner "Hey, come and see."

I joined him, watching more people along with a squad of Cybermen. Rose pressed herself against the wall "Where are they all going?"

"I don't know," the Doctor mumbled "Lumic must have a base of operations."

Pete inhaled deeply "Battersea. That's where he was building his prototypes."

"Why's he doing it?" Rose questioned curiously.

"He's dying," the red-haired man shrugged "This all started out as a way of prolonging life, of keeping the brain alive at any cost."

I hummed "So no vampires here then."

"What?" Pete blinked.

"Erm… Nothing, sorry," I grimaced. Wasn't supposed to say that out loud.

Rose looked at the Doctor "The thing is, I've seen Cybermen before, haven't I? The head. Those handle shapes in Van Statten's museum."

"But those were different though, weren't they?" I asked "I mean, these look… Sleeker? Different in any case."

"True," the Time Lord agreed "There are Cybermen in our universe. They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy. This lot are a parallel version and they're starting from scratch right here on Earth."

"I take it that's not a good thing," I groaned, resting my head against the wall of the building I was standing next to.

Pete looked at the three of us "What the hell are you three on about?"

"Never mind that," Ricky snapped "Come on, we need to get out of the city. Okay, split up. Mrs Moore, you look after that bloke. Jake, distract them. Go right, I'll go left. We'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move."

"I'm going with him," Mickey said, nodding to Ricky before tilting his head at Tyra "What about you?"

I grinned at him "As if I'm going to sit by while you undoubtedly get into trouble."

"Ty?" the Doctor questioned.

"I'm going with Mickey," I told him "… Be careful, alright?"

He smiled lightly, shooing me off "Take care of him?"

"I will." I ran after the two boys, wrapping my arm around Mickey's waist.

"Which way?" Mickey questioned, looking at Ricky "I don't know where we are."

Ricky pressed himself against the wall "Did they see us?"

"Do they know where we are?" Mickey asked.

They looked at each other "I bet they saw us," Ricky mumbled, glancing around nervously, while I looked at them in amusement "I bet they can see in the dark…"

"I bet they've got satellites," Mickey added.

"They know where we are," the two chorused.

I snorted "God, you two are cute," I shook my head "Are you done now?"

"I don't get it," Ricky complained, shooting me an annoyed look "You are exactly like me."

"Oh, yes," I egged him on "Do go on, Ricky."

Mickey hit the back of my head "Shut up, Ty."

"You wound me, Micky," I laughed "But seriously. We're from another universe, Ricky. It's similar to this one but different."

The other boy blinked "So what you guys said earlier… That was what you were talking about?"

"Yup," I nodded "You know, you're as smart as Mick, even if he doesn't think so."

Ricky tilted his head "Why did you ask about the Mikaelsons earlier? I heard of them… They are elite here in London. Have been for generations."

"Because I'm a Mikaelson," I told him quietly "I – I didn't expect to see them in Pete's house. Especially not as human with my two very dead siblings still alive."

"Human?"

I waved him off "It's complicated." I quieted down when the clomping of Cybermen reached my ears.

"Cybermen," Mickey murmured in horror, looking from Ricky to me and back.

"Split up?" they nodded at each other. Ricky ran to the left while Mickey and I went to the right, trying to avoid the Cybermen coming towards us.

The next time we saw Ricky, he was on the other side of a tall chain-link fence with Cybermen right behind him "Shit," I cursed lowly, glancing at Mickey.

He was staring at his double, muttering under his breath "Come on, come on, come on." I quickly swung myself over the fence, reaching out to toss Ricky onto the other side where Mickey was "Ty, watch out."

I whirled around, only to be grabbed by one of the Cybermen "Argh," I groaned, feeling the electricity course through me. I forgot how much it hurt to be electrocuted… I jerked my arm up, dislocating the grip of the metal arm before kicking them away from me. With one quick jump, I was on top of the fence, gracefully jumping down on the other side, rubbing at my throat lightly.

Mickey wrapped me into his arms before grabbing my hand, pulling me along "Hurry."

"Here they are," Jake called out as soon as the others came into view.

The Doctor looked at me and then at the healing mark on my throat "What happened?"

"Run in with a Cybermen," I muttered, brushing him off "I'm fine though."

"Thank you," Ricky said, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

I stiffened a little before relaxing slightly "You're welcome, Ricky."

The Doctor looked at me for a moment longer before nodding "Let's go," he spoke louder "Move."

Before long, we were standing at the edge of the Thames, looking at the Battersea factory just across the water "The whole of London's been sealed off and the entire population's been taken inside that place. To be converted," the Doctor spoke up, his dark eyes on the factory.

"We've got to get in there and shut it down," Rose murmured.

Mickey raised his eyebrow "How do we do that?"

The Time Lord hummed "Oh, I'll think of something."

"You're just making it up as you go along," Mickey accused.

"Yep," the Doctor nodded, winking at him "But I do it brilliantly."

Mrs Moore walked up to us with a Cybus Industries laptop, turning it so we could see it "That's a schematic of the old factory. Look. Cooling tunnels underneath the plant. Big enough to walk through."

The Doctor pointed to a part of the display "We go under there and up into the control centre?"

"Hmm," the woman nodded.

Pete licked his lips "There's another way in. Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in."

Jake scoffed "We can't just go strolling up."

"Or we could," Mrs Moore argued, pulling out a pair of fake earpods "With these. Fake earpods. Dead. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd."

Pete took them from her hands "Then that's my job."

"You'd have to show no emotion," the Doctor explained "None at all. Any sign of emotion would give you away."

Rose looked at the man who in our universe was her father in worry and then to Mrs Moore "How many of those you got?"

"Just two sets," the woman shrugged.

The blonde nodded "Okay. If that's the best way of finding Jackie, then I'm coming with you."

I groaned out loud at her. Mickey shoved my shoulder, shaking his head while Pete frowned at Rose in confusion "Why does she matter to you?"

"We haven't got time," Rose shook her head "Doctor, I'm going with him and that's that."

The Time Lord looked at her with a sigh "No stopping you, is there?" I scoffed under my breath at Rose. This was going beyond everything now and I just wanted it to be over and done with. I might have saved my parallel family but this was going too far and the Doctor was going along with it… Just like he went along when Rose wanted to see her father.

"No," Rose shook her head.

He sighed "Tell you what. We can take the earpods at the same time. Give people their minds back so they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jakey-boy? Ricky? Lumic's transmitting the control signal. It must be from over there." He waved his sonic in the direction of the power station with the Zeppelin parked on top with a circle of red lights blinking on its bow "There it is. On the Zeppelin, you see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you could take it out?"

Jake smiled smugly "Consider it done."

The Doctor nodded "Mrs Moore, would you care to accompany me into the cooping tunnels?"

"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?" the woman laughed lightly.

"We attack on three sides," the Time Lord continued "Above." He gestured to Jake, Ricky, Mickey and me "Between." Rose and Pete "Below. We get to the control centre, we stop the conversion machines."

Ricky clapped my shoulder, jerking his head "You coming?"

"Yeah," I murmured, looking at the Doctor for a moment more.

The Time Lord pointed at me "If we survive this, I'll see you two back at the Tardis."

"That's a promise," Mickey nodded, walking off.

I followed Jake with Ricky and Mickey on either side of me. Ricky looked over my head at Mickey "So… You're from another universe?"

"Yeah," Mickey nodded.

"Can I just ask… If you're me there then what's different?" Ricky questioned.

Mickey looked down at me and sighed "For one, I'm alone… Gran – Gran died years ago and since then…"

"That's why you were at the house, weren't you?" Jake asked, looking over his shoulder "You were checking whether she's still alive here?"

"Yeah," Mickey sighed "That stupid carpet… I should have fixed it. If I had…"

I wrapped my arms around his middle again "Mickey, you couldn't have known."

"But still."

"You told me not to blame myself for Henrik," I murmured "You shouldn't blame yourself for your grandmother."

It was around then that we reached the ladder that lead to the roof. Jake gestured for us to wait a moment, climbing up first. He peaked over the ledge and nodded "Two guards," he breathed "We can take them."

"I'll go," I told them "It'll only take a moment. Shift."

Mickey caught my wrist as I moved past him "Don't kill them."

"I didn't plan on killing anyone," I shrugged "Just a quick bite."

"Really?" Ricky frowned, wrinkling his nose.

I looked down at him "Well, I don't know about you but electrocution isn't the best feeling in the world. Plus, I kinda feel like a drink."

"Fine," Mickey sighed "Go."

I winked before pulling myself over the ledge, speeding towards the two guards. I wrapped my arm around one of them, quickly compelling him to keep quiet before biting into the other's neck. Once I was done, they were both unconscious on the ground "Come on," I called over to the others.

"This is seriously weird," Jake commented, looking at the guard "I mean, how does that even work? Are you like the vampires from the stories?"

"Sorta but not really," I told him "There's truth in the myths but there's also a lot of bullshit."

Ricky walked past us "Not really the time, guys."

"Sorry," I mumbled, following him into the Zeppelin.

We disposed of a few more guards, the others distracting them while I compel them to ignore us and forget that they saw us "Nice one," Jake nodded "Does that really work?"

"Yeah," I shrugged "They won't say anything. Compulsion is awesome."

"Find the transmitter controls," Ricky hissed.

Mickey tilted his head "What do they look like?"

Jake rolled his eyes and smirked "Well, I don't know. They might have Transmitter Controls written in big red letters. Just look!" The Zeppelin had a nice big ship's wheel for steering "Cyberman!" Jake called out, pointing his gun at it.

"It's dead," Mickey murmured "I don't think it was ever alive." He knocked on its head three times "It's empty. No brain. It's just a robot suit for display."

Ricky and Jake relaxed "Okay. Transmitter."

"Guys," I spoke up "I think I found it." I pointed to a box that actually had Transmitter Controls written on it. Not that I was complaining.

Mickey ran over, glancing over the box "The controls are sealed behind here… We need like oxyacetylene or something."

Jake shot him a look "Oh, and I forgot to bring it with me."

"Well then, what do we do?" Mickey raised his eyebrow.

"We'll crash the Zeppelin," Ricky pointed out.

Mickey gaped at him "With us inside it?"

"We could set it to automatic," Jake shrugged "And just leg it. Let's have a look." He walked over to the steering controls "It's locked. There's got to be an override."

I blinked at the screen "You know, I can kinda fly the Tardis with the Doctor's help but that… Is way over my head. What are you doing?"

"You are so old and didn't learn about technology?" Mickey huffed.

I scoffed "Bite me, Mick. I had other things to do."

"Like what?" Ricky questioned curiously while Mickey went to work on the computer.

"Oh, a friend of mine was in trouble in the late 50s. Stayed with him until the 70s, I think," I scratched my head "Things happened. I moved around a lot. Why do you want to know anyway?"

Ricky held up his hands "Just curious. Is that wrong?"

"Nah, it's alright," I murmured before whirling around when I heard a noise. The Cyberman in the corner moved "Not to be a downer or anything but… The Cyberman is moving."

Jake tightened his grip around the gun "You said it was dead," he hissed at Mickey.

"Yeah," the boy shrugged "But a robot's still a big robot. Wait a minute. Hey, Cyberman, over here. Come on, you brainless lump of metal. Come and have a go." Mickey stood in front of the panel labelled Transmitter Controls, beckoning the Cyberman towards him. I tensed, making sure to be ready in case he needed my help. Thankfully, that didn't happen since Mickey ducked as the Cyberman smashed its fist into the panel, electrocuting himself "The transmitter's down."

I tilted my head, hearing the commotion going on outside "It worked. The people are panicking."

"Woah," Jake mumbled "You can actually hear that?"

"Yeah," I nodded "They're kinda loud."

Mickey was typing furiously "Hold on, I've logged on to Cyber Control." A video popped up on the monitor in front of us "They're alive. The Doctor and Rose, there they are."

"Did you doubt them?" I questioned with a small shake of my head.

Jake stared at the monitor with wide eyes "Never mind them, what the hell is that thing?"

I furrowed my brow "I think – From the stories the Doc told me. That should be the Cyber-controller which would mean that that thing is Lumic."

"Shush," Mickey placed his hand over my mouth "Has this thing got sound?"

" _I will bring peace to the world,_ " the Controller proclaimed " _Everlasting peace. And unity and uniformity._ "

" _And imagination? What about that?_ " the Doctor questioned, looking up at the thing " _The one thing that lead you here, imagination, you're killing it dead._ "

Lumic looked down " _What is your name?_ "

" _I'm the Doctor._ "

" _A redundant title,_ " the Cyberman dismissed " _Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken._ "

" _Yeah, but that's it. That's exactly the point. Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man,_ " the Time Lord sighed " _I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room. But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive. People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people._ "

"Oh, he's off on a tangent again," I mumbled, leaning against the wheel.

Ricky smirked "That sounds like he does that sort of stuff often?"

"He does," Mickey nodded "Trust me on that."

Lumic barely moved " _You are proud of your emotions._ "

" _Oh, yes,_ " the Doctor nodded.

" _Then tell me, Doctor. Have you known grief and rage and pain?_ "

The Time Lord nodded " _Yes. Yes, I have._ "

" _And they hurt?_ "

" _Oh, yes._ "

If Lumic could have smirked, he probably would have " _I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?_ "

" _You might as well kill me,_ " the Doctor scoffed.

"Oh, bad move," I winced.

Lumic nodded " _Then I take that option._ "

" _It's not yours to take. You're a Cyber Controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart,_ " the Doctor pointed out.

" _You have no means of stopping me,_ " Lumic pointed out " _I have an army. A species of my own._ "

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair " _You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing. Because those ordinary people, they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world._ " He looked directly at the camera as he said that, winking " _Some ordinary man or woman, some idiot. All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers. Say the right codes. Say, for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him. Because even an idiot knows how to use computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords. Knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under er… What was it, Pete? Binary what?_ "

" _Binary nine,_ " the man replied.

Jake laughed lightly, shaking his head "He really isn't subtle, is he?"

"I don't think he even knows what that word means," I told him "But that's the charm."

"Sh," Mickey snapped "Binary nine."

The Doctor continued " _An idiot could find that code. Cancellation code. And he'd keep on typing. Keep on fighting. Anything to save his friends._ "

" _Your words are irrelevant,_ " Lumic cut him off.

" _Yeah, talk too much, that's my problem,_ " the Time Lord nodded " _Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose, for all out long chats. On your phone._ "

"Phone," Mickey blinked "Ty, do you have…?"

I pulled out my phone, opening the text messages "Here."

"6879760," my friend dictated.

" _You will be deleted._ "

The Doctor hummed " _Yes. Delete, control, hash. All those lovely buttons. Then, of course, my particular favourite, send. And let's not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place._ " It was then that Rose's phone beeped with the text I just sent " _By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else._ "

Rose looked up " _It's for you._ "

" _Like this._ " The Doctor put the phone into a docking station. The code transmitted and the Cybermen cried out in pain. The numbers appeared on every computer screen.

"Yes," Mickey, Ricky and Jake cheered, high-fiving each other before pulling me into a group hug.

I looked at the screen "Jake, get the Zeppelin ready. It looks like everything's going to blow. I'll go get the others."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ricky questioned.

"We can't just leave them," Mickey agreed with me "Ty, hurry it up."

I nodded, running as fast as I could, my ears on what was happening inside the factory. It didn't take me long to find them, thankfully "Go up," I called down to them "Roof. We've got the Zeppelin."

The Doctor, Rose and Pete ran up the metal staircase as fires broke out behind them "Tyra?"

"I'm here," I spoke up from further on the roof. The Zeppelin was already quite high but it was starting to lower itself towards us.

"Who is flying this thing?" Rose frowned, looking up in confusion.

I shrugged "Either Jake or Mickey, I would assume." I shifted to the side when a rope ladder fell out.

"You've got to be kidding," Pete mumbled.

The Doctor shoved Rose towards me "Rose, get up."

The blonde went first, then me, the Doctor and Pete was last on the ladder "We did it," Rose cheered "We did it."

Something heavy pulled at the ladder, nearly making the others lose their grip. The Doctor fumbled with his screwdriver, looking down "Pete. Take this. Use it and hold the button down. Press it against the rope."

"Jackie Tyler. This is for her," the man hissed as the rope gave away, causing Lumic to fall.

I sighed in relief, leaning my head against the rope "Oh God."

The next morning, we were back at the Lambeth Pier where the Tardis was waiting for us. I had my eyes closed, leaning against the side of the blue box, listening to Rose and Pete's conversation a little way off "So, what happens inside that thing, then?"

Rose tilted her head "Do you want to see?"

"No," the man shook his head firmly "I don't think so. But you, you know, all that stuff you said about different worlds. Who are you?"

"It's like you say," the blonde murmured "Imagine there are different worlds, parallel worlds. Worlds with another Pete Tyler and Jackie Tyler's still alive and their daughter…"

I turned away, walking over to where Mickey was with Jake and Ricky "So," I spoke up, looking at my friend with a sad smile. They had been talking about Mickey staying for a while now but it was only now that they came to an agreement "You're staying then?"

"I am," Mickey nodded "Is that alright?"

I looked back at the Tardis "You don't need my permission. I'm going to miss you, though. All three of you."

Mickey pulled me into his arms, resting his head on mine "You've been an awesome friend, you know? Thank you."

"It's me who should be thanking you," I mumbled into his chest "I don't have many friends…"

"You could stay too," Jake spoke up.

I looked at him and shook my head "I would love to. I really, really would but…"

"You don't want to leave him," Mickey finished, nodding to where the Tardis was "I don't blame you."

"It's not just that," I explained "My siblings… I want to see them again. I'm scared of seeing them again because I might or might not have pissed off Nik but… I want us to be a family again."

"I'm sure you will be someday," the Doctor said, coming up behind us "We have to run… But one more thing. Mrs Moore. Her real name was Angela Price. She's got a husband out there and children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."

Jake and Ricky nodded "Of course we will."

The Doctor clasped my shoulder "Off we go, then."

"Er, thing is, I'm staying," Mickey spoke up.

"You're going what?" the Time Lord blinked looking down at me. I swallowed, looking away from him.

Rose shook her head "No, you can't. What about me? What if I need you?"

"Yeah, but Rose, you don't," Mickey pointed out "Tyra was right. We had something a long time ago but not anymore."

"There she is," I heard a familiar voice call from somewhere behind us.

I turned away from Mickey and came face to face with the parallel Mikaelsons "I see you survived," I smiled lightly.

Rose raised her eyebrow "You saved them?" she hissed accusingly, forgetting about Mickey for the moment "When?"

"Before the Doctor used the power cell," I told her, ignoring the Time Lord's knowing look.

"What? You could have saved me mom?" the blonde shouted, trying to shove me back.

I grabbed her arms, holding onto her tightly "She is not your mother, Rose."

"And they are not your family," Rose pointed out angrily.

"I know," I shrugged, tilting my head a little. The parallel Mikaelsons followed me a few steps away from the others.

Henrik tilted his head "What does she mean 'We're not your family?'"

"It's complicated," I murmured, looking at the Doctor uncomfortably.

"Your choice," he whispered, patting my shoulder "You have five minutes."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes "It really is complicated…"

Kol placed his hand on my shoulder and smirked "I think we can keep up. After today, nothing is going to surprise me anymore."

"I doubt it," I snorted "Fine… Here goes. The Doctor, Mickey, Rose and I are from another universe. Parallel to this one. In the other universe… Henrik and Freya are dead and our parents – Mother was a witch who turned us all into vampires."

The six Mikaelsons in front of me blinked "Vampires?"

I swallowed, letting my other features show for a second before my eyes turned into their normal blue "Yup."

"You know, I can actually see the similarities," Elijah murmured "May I ask about your age?"

"Sixteen," I murmured "Well, I've been sixteen for over a thousand years now but… Yeah. Henrik – my Henrik was my twin brother."

The parallel Henrik looked down at me sadly "How did he die?"

"I – Wolves. He was ripped apart by werewolves," I told them, tears entering my eyes.

Henrik inhaled sharply and pulled me into a tight embrace "I'm sorry." I clenched my hands in his jacket, my mind flashing back to the times my twin would hold me after father was done with me. It hurt but a part of me felt good, felt that it was right to be in his arms again.

"Ty," the Doctor called from the Tardis "We have to leave now."

"I –" I pulled away from them, my cheeks wet from the tears "I should go."

They nodded, thankfully not mentioning the fact that I was still crying "Thank you for saving us. Good luck."

"Bye," I breathed, running towards the Tardis. Before I entered, I looked back to where Ricky, Mickey and Jake were being joined by the parallel Mikaelsons.


	9. Interlude: Fool Me Once

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. Way earlier than I wanted to post it but I want to know what you think of the special guest that's going to join the Tardis crew for the next few Episodes. The next one is going to be up next week, I think... Maybe. I hope. But I'm going to try and post more often for this story.
> 
> Also, I decided on doing the Interludes in 3rd Person. There will most likely be only three or four in this part of the story but still…
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"I'm bored," Tyra sighed almost as soon as the Doctor had moved the Tardis from Rose's living room to the space outside the building. The blonde decided that she wanted to spend the night with her mother. The Original's mind was still whirling with the memories that her parallel family had stirred up but she tried to push them back

The Doctor turned away from the console and raised his eyebrow "Where do you want to go then? Whole universe is open."

The vampire blinked and pointed to the door "What about Rose?"

"She's with her mother. She won't notice."

"Famous last words there," Tyra snorted "Hey, can we... maybe go visit a friend? I haven't seen him in almost fifty years. I think I know where he is but if not then I'll just show you around to town that was built on the land where I grew up."

The Doctor tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at the girl in front of him "Him?"

"Yup," she shrugged "So, can we?"

"Sure," the Time Lord nodded and waved her over and gestured to the console "Here. Do you remember what I taught you a while ago?"

The Original licked her lips nervously "I think so. Are you sure that it's..."

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise," the Doctor cut her off "Here. I'll show you what to do again." With that, he guided Tyra through the Tardis set-off and showed her how to make sure that she landed where she wanted to go. The vampire was slightly overwhelmed but she managed to do what the Doctor wanted her to do.

The Original grinned when the shaking of the Tardis stopped and looked up at the Doctor "So did I get it?"

"Let's see," the Doctor glanced at the monitor and hummed "Mystic Falls. End of the year… 2006. I think you got it."

"Yes," Tyra cheered and held out her hand "Come on. I want to show you where I grew up." The Time Lord shook his head with a smile, placing his hand in the girl's. He hadn't seen her this excited in a while, so he didn't mind at all. Especially not after what happened yesterday with Mickey staying behind and her seeing her parallel family and Henrik. It must have been really hard for her to just leave…

The Doctor looked around interestedly "When have you been here last?"

"Maybe a few hundred years. I don't really know," Tyra shrugged. The two started walking around the town with the Original pointing out several buildings "This is the apparently very, very… creatively named 'Mystic Grill'. I feel like they just said 'fuck it' and slapped 'Mystic' in front of every single establishment."

"When was this town founded anyway?" the Time Lord questioned. So far he was pretty underwhelmed by the town but something must be going on here for Tyra to go back here more than once.

Tyra pulled him along, heading towards the woods to show him the caves where they hid during the full moon "In the late 1800s. The funny thing is that the Founding families are still a huge deal here. I think they have a council going on that deals with everything supernatural that pops up in the town."

"What? Why?"

"Because when the families founded the town, there was a pretty large group of vampires that stayed in the town. It took a while for them to become aware of the matter but soon the Council started hunting them down," the Original broke off for a moment and cleared her throat "I'm not sure what happened after they were all caught. Either they died or they were locked away and killed."

The Time Lord hummed. Maybe this town wasn't as boring as it appeared "Is there more stuff going on here?"

"The occasional vampire and some other stuff, I guess but nothing too bad in the past hundred and fifty years," Tyra shrugged.

"Aw," the Doctor pouted "I was hoping for some action…"

Tyra rolled her eyes "This is mainly for nostalgia. Honestly, I'm hoping for an action-less trip today."

"I thought you liked the trips," he shot back.

"I do but I just lost my friend and saw my family as humans, Doc. It's nice to have a break once in a while," I told him quietly.

The Time Lord dropped his frown and looked down with a sigh "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Tyra smiled, nudging his shoulder "Mickey chose to stay in the other universe and I can't blame him for that decision." She was about to say something else when she heard a twig snap further into the woods "Shh."

"What's wrong?" the Doctor whispered.

The Original shook her head "Stay here. I think I know who that is." She had heard a familiar voice cursing and raving about a tomb or something "I'll be right back." With that, Tyra sped off in the direction of the noises. When Damon came into view, she slowed down.

"That fucking bitch," he hissed, hitting his hand through the nearest tree.

Tyra winced and walked closer with a smirk "What did that tree ever do to you, Day-Day?"

The younger vampire whirled around and relaxed "I told you not to call me that, Ty-Ty."

"Okay, okay," she held up her hands, letting out a small laugh "What's going on, Damon?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair "I told you about Katherine and how she was trapped in the tomb, right?"

"And I told you that there was a pretty good chance that she wasn't in there," the Original shot back "I take it that I was right?"

"Yes," Damon growled "That goddamn bitch. I love her and she…"

Tyra looked up at the other vampire and sighed "Damon… Katerina isn't worth your love. Trust me on that… There's something I haven't told you before but maybe it'll help. I don't know."

"Tell me what?" the raven-haired man frowned "Is it how you know her? You never did say."

"Yeah," the Original nodded and grabbed Damon's wrist "Come on. I left a friend waiting for me a bit that way. Don't really want him to get into any trouble." A noise caused her to raise her eyebrow "Never mind. Seems as if he took it upon himself to come here," she snorted.

"Hey," the Doctor exclaimed, crossing his arms. He looked from Damon to Tyra and back "Who is that, Ty?"

"Damon, that's the Doctor. Doctor, that's the friend I've been telling you about. Damon Salvatore," she introduced.

The younger of the two vampires tilted his head. There was amusement in his eyes. He knew exactly who that man was and this hadn't even been the first time they met but it was the first time the Doctor was meeting Damon, so he had to play it up "Just Doctor?"

"Just Doctor," the Time Lord nodded, anticipating another followup but blinked when the man just turned to his friend with a smirk.

"So you talked about me, did you?" Damon waggled his eyebrows.

Tyra coughed, trying to stop the grin "I mentioned you earlier. Once. No need to get cocky."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and looked around the clearing, freezing at the picture of a tree with a hole through the middle "What happened here?"

"Ah… Damon got a bit… Emotional," Tyra shrugged and looked up at the Doctor "Doc, would you mind if Damon comes with us for one trip or so? I'd really like to catch up with him and I don't think it's a good idea for him to stay here right now."

"Can I ask why?"

The Original looked from Damon to the Doctor and sighed "I'll tell you later. It's a bit of a long story."

"Sure," the Doctor shrugged "Just two rules." When Damon nodded in confusion he continued "No wandering off and no eating people. Ty has blood bags that you can use."

"Where's the fun in that?" Damon pouted playfully.

Tyra hit him over the back of the head "I think you can stop yourself from biting people for a few days."


	10. Idiot's Lantern

I was sitting sideways on the jump seat with Damon next to me, my legs resting over his comfortably. His left arm wrapped around my bent knees. The vampire had reacted surprisingly well to the whole 'time and space travel' thing and was actually excited for what the Doctor had in store. I wasn't too sure but somehow he was reacting too well.

"Then there's Elena," Damon said with a sigh. He had been telling me about his time in Mystic Falls for the last hour while we were waiting for the Doctor to come back from wherever he was at the moment "She's my brother's girlfriend and…" the younger vampire paused for a moment, looking down "She looks exactly like Katherine."

I blinked in shock "Wait, what?" There was no way that Damon was telling me about a human Doppelgänger, right?

"Elena is an exact copy of Katherine," he repeated before shaking his head "Well, not an exact copy. She is a whole lot nicer."

Before I could try to figure out what to say to that, the Tardis door was thrown open and Rose stormed in, looking around "Where's the Doctor?"

"He's working on something," I shrugged, rolling my eyes at the blonde "Don't ask me. He should be back in a bit though."

"Why the hell did you leave without me?" the blonde demanded, stalking closer with a death glare.

I looked up at her calmly "You were with your mom. We were gone for a few hours at most. Does it really matter?"

"Who is that then?" Damon spoke up, cutting off the rest of the blonde's rant. His arm had tightened around my legs as his eyes narrowed on the girl in front of him.

"Right," I murmured "Damon, Rose Tyler. Rose, this is an old friend of mine. Damon Salvatore."

Rose raised her eyebrow "What is he doing here?"

"The Doctor offered him a few trips," I explained, nudging Damon's side with a small smile "Better than him going on a killing spree."

"Don't complain, you're one of the people who taught me about being a vampire," the younger vampire grinned.

The blonde looked at us in horror and disgust "How can you actually enjoy killing people?" Then she turned to me "You are disgusting. How many people have you killed since you started travelling with us?"

I tilted my head at the 'us'. It seemed as if she was calling me a tag-along "I…"

"Don't answer her," Damon murmured, pulling me closer to him "Just ignore it. People like her think they are better than everyone else."

"I don't think I'm better," Rose shot back "I know it. Hell, you even went against the Doctor's wishes to save your family in the parallel universe. Funny since you were the one going on about how I was the bad guy for saving my father."

I shot up from the jump seat, stalking towards Rose angrily "You don't know anything," I hissed through clenched teeth "The Doctor knew I went back inside. I only got them out of the house, the rest was up to them."

"You left my mother in there," the blonde yelled.

Damon wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me onto his lap "Calm down, Tyra. Just let her talk." I had told him about our last adventure and that my friend had decided to stay behind and be with his counterpart and the family he lost in this universe.

"I didn't see her, Rose," I told the blonde, taking deep breaths. No killing Rose… No killing Rose. The Doctor would mind if I did… "Also… How often do you have to hear it before you understand? She was not your mother. Your mother is healthy and happy outside of these doors."

It was then that the Doctor stepped into the console room, looking at the scene. "Oh, you're back," he noted, smiling at Rose before glancing over to where I was still on Damon's lap. Was it just me or did his eyes get a little darker? I shrugged to myself when the look was gone as quickly as it came. Maybe I just imagined it…

"Did you finish what you were trying to do?" I asked him.

The Doctor hummed "Yup. We're all ready to go now." He raised his eyebrow at Damon "Any wishes?"

Damon looked at me and shrugged "I don't know… Tyra?"

"How about we the fifties? Since…" I broke off, watching as his eyes lit up in realization.

"Fifties," the Doctor repeated "How about we go and see Elvis?" Without waiting for an answer, he started up the Tardis.

Rose was still standing in front of me with her arms crossed. She hadn't gotten a word in edgewise and it was very obvious that she was annoyed "I'm going to change," she grumbled, storming out of the console room.

"Okay," I drawled, looking down at myself. While I was wearing black leather skinny jeans and an oversized white sweater that reached mid-tight, I really didn't want to change. Especially since I wasn't in a dress mood "This will work… Maybe."

The Doctor looked over his shoulder with a grin, quickly glancing over my outfit choice "Just act as if you own the place. It usually works for me."

I laughed "True. I mean, I was wearing a suit when we met Queen Victoria. Although she knew me, so that didn't really count." That was when I remembered the Blitz "Ah, I was wearing a dress when we met Jack…" I looked up at Damon sheepishly "We ran into my brother who proceeded to call me a whore."

"Wait, your brother called you a what?" Damon blinked.

I shook my head with a small grin "Not like that. The dress was short and very obviously not from the 1940s."

"Ah," the younger vampire nodded "Makes sense… I guess."

"Although he should know that I wear what I want to wear," I snorted before realizing that I was still sitting on Damon's lap "You can let me go now…"

Damon blinked "Oh right, sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I murmured, moving a little to the side, so I was sitting next to him again.

It took Rose the better part of half an hour to come back to the console room, enough time for the Doctor to find two scooters somewhere in the Tardis and park them outside "I thought we'd be going for the Vegas era, you know the white flares and the, grr, chest hair."

The Doctor had styled his hair into a quiff and turned to look at Rose in confusion "We said we'd go to the fifties. Also, you want to see Elvis, you go for the late fifties. The time before burgers. When they called him the Pelvis and he still had a waist. What's more, you see him in style." He threw Rose a helmet before grabbing two more for Damon and me. The Time Lord grinned at Rose and me "You going my way, doll?"

"Is there any other way to go, daddy-o? Straight from the fridge, man," Rose laughed.

I winced "You two do know that that's not how Americans sound, right?"

"I'm a little offended," Damon mumbled, leaning against the silver one of the scooters "At least you're not American, Ty."

"Technically, I am," I shot back "I might not have the accent but I was born in Virginia."

The younger vampire tilted his head "Wait, is that why you came to Mystic Falls all those years ago?"

"The town is built on my homeland," I mumbled "Have I really never told you that?"

"You barely talked about your past," Damon told me "Well, not the stuff that matters anyway."

The Doctor looked from Damon to me before his attention turned back to Rose "Ignore the spoilsports. You speak the lingo."

"Oh well," the blonde shrugged "Me, mum, Cliff Richards movies every Bank Holiday Monday." She got on the pillion and put on the bright pink helmet while I got on behind Damon, leaning my head against his back.

"Ah, Cliff. I knew your mother would be a Cliff fan," the Time Lord snorted, starting to drive down the street.

Rose looked around "Where we off to?"

"Ed Sullivan TV Studios," the Doctor called "Elvis did Hound Dog on one of the shows. There were loads of complaints. Bit of luck, we'll just catch it."

I glanced up at the Union Flags strung up over the streets and started laughing "Well, at least we know his aim hasn't gotten better."

"Does this happen often?" Damon questioned.

"Well, if I'm right, we're still in the fifties but… Not quite in the US," I smirked "He messed up before. Like, brought Rose home a year late or went to 1879 instead of 1979. That was also where Rose was called a timorous beastie. It was brilliant."

"Oh, I can see that blonde being none too happy about that," the younger vampire snorted in amusement.

Rose glanced at the Union Flags as well and shook her head "And that'll be TV studios in, what, New York?"

"That's the one," the Doctor nodded before coming to a stop when a red London bus drove past the end of a street. He pulled up by a red post box and looked up to see all of those flags strung between the houses.

Rose started laughing "Ha! Digging that New York vibe."

"Well, this could still be New York," the Doctor mumbled "I mean, this looks very New York to me. Sort of London-y New York, mind."

I turned my head toward him with a smirk "If this is New York, I'm Santa Claus."

"What are all the flags for?" the blonde girl questioned curiously.

The Time Lord shrugged and looked around to see a man unloading a television set from the back of a van "Let's find out."

"There you go, sir, all wired up for the great occasion," the man with the van smiled, nodding at the family in front of him.

"The great occasion?" the Doctor blinked, tilting his head "What do you mean?"

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise "Where've you been living, out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course."

"What Coronation's that then?"

I raised my hand to my forehead and shook my head with a small grin "Queen Elizabeth II, Doctor."

"Oh," the Time Lord nodded "Is this 1953?"

The man in front of us stared at us in surprise "Last time I looked. Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best."

Rose drew in a sharp breath "Look at all the TV aerials. Looks like everyone's got one. That's weird. My nan said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house."

"They were pretty rare, yeah," I nodded.

Damon looked down at me "I thought you were in the US in the fifties?"

"I was," I shrugged "But it wasn't any different there. Also, I have some friends around here."

"Shush," Rose hissed, glaring at me and Damon before turning back to the man.

"Not around here, they're not rare," the older man shook his head "Magpie's Marvellous Tellies, only five quid a pop."

Damon leaned down "I have no idea what he's saying…"

"Five pounds per television," I translated quietly.

The Doctor nodded happily "Oh, but this is a brilliant year. Classic! Technicolour, Everest climbed, everything off the ration. The nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future."

"Someone help me, please," a woman from across the street cried out "Ted!" Two burly men in black clothes had bundled a person into the back of a car with a blanket covering his head "Leave him alone! He's my husband. Please."

We ran over, the man we had been talking to quickly taking his leave. Way too quickly… "What's going on?" the Doctor asked.

"Oi, what are you doing?" a young boy called, running out of the next house.

One of the men glanced at all the people and rolled his eyes in exasperation "Police business. Now, get out of the way, sir."

"Who did they take?" Rose murmured, looking at the boy "Do you know him?"

He nodded "Must be Mister Gallagher." The car drove away and he looked at the blonde next to him "It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters."

"Tommy," an angry voice shouted from behind "Not one word. Get inside now."

I gripped Damon's hand, recognizing the tone. Tommy closed his eyes for a moment "Sorry. I'd better do as he says."

"All aboard," the Doctor called, starting his scooter.

Rose jumped onto the back, while Damon and I stayed where we were "What was that?" the younger vampire questioned.

"What?" I frowned.

Damon lifted out still interlocked hands and glanced down at them pointedly "Ty, what…?"

"Sorry," I mumbled "I'm not normally… I don't normally… Sorry."

"I haven't seen you like this in a while," Damon whispered, pulling me into an embrace.

I leaned my head against his chest with a sigh "That man… He reminded me of my father. I don't normally think about it but… I don't know."

"I take it your father wasn't father of the year, was he?"

"No," I laughed bitterly "Indeed not."

The Doctor's scooter came to a halt next to where we were standing "There you are."

"What's up?"

"We tried to follow them but they practically vanished," the Time Lord muttered.

Damon tilted his head "How?"

"I wish I knew," the Doctor huffed "Come on." He walked in the direction of Tommy's house.

Rose immediately followed but I hesitated until Damon tugged at my hand "You okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded "Sorry."

"Hi," Rose and the Doctor chorused as soon as the front door opened.

The man narrowed his eyes "Who are you, then?"

"Let's see, then," the Doctor hummed "Judging by the look of you, family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war, therefore I represent Queen and Country." He held up his psychic paper "Just doing a little check of Her forthcoming Majesty's subjects before the great day. Don't mind if we come in?" The Doctor pushed past him with Rose, while Damon and I followed a little behind. I eyed the man suspiciously "Nah, I didn't think you did. Thank you. Not bad," he nodded, looking around the living room "Very nice. Very well kept. I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs…?"

"Connolly," the woman on the armchair spoke up timidly.

Mr Connolly came into the room behind us "Now then, Rita. I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative. Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit."

"It's not the wife who talks to much," I mumbled to Damon.

The younger vampire smiled faintly "That's what I was thinking."

"Well," the Doctor half-snapped, narrowing his eyes on the man "Maybe she should rattle on a bit more. I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty. Nice flags." He held up a chain of Union Jacks "Why are they not flying?"

Mr Connolly grabbed them out of his hands "There we are Rita, I told you. Get them up. Queen and Country."

"I'm sorry," Rita whispered.

"Get it done," Mr Connolly told her "Do it now."

The Doctor crossed his arms "Hold on a minute."

"Like the gentleman says…"

"Shut up," I hissed, glaring at the man "You've got hands too. Just do it, will you?"

The Doctor stepped over to me, his hand on my shoulders "Ty…" he shook his head "Mr Connolly… Why is that your wife's job?"

"Well, it's housework, isn't it?" the man questioned, throwing me a dirty look. It seemed as if he didn't like women talking down at him.

"And that's a woman's job?"

Mr Connolly scoffed "Of course, it is."

I tensed, ready to say something again when the Doctor squeezed my shoulders in warning "Mr Connolly, what gender is the Queen?"

"She's a female."

"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?" the Time Lord challenged.

Mr Connolly paled "No. Not at all."

"Then get busy," the Doctor demanded, gesturing to the flags.

"Right," Mr Connolly nodded "Yes, sir. You'll be proud of us, sir. We'll have Union Jacks left, right and centre."

Rose raised her eyebrow "Excuse me, Mr Connolly. Hang on a minute. Union Jacks?"

"Yes, that's right, isn't it?" the man blinked.

"That's the Union Flag," the blonde pointed out "It's the Union Jack only when it's flown at sea."

I snorted, noticing Tommy's gaze on me. I smiled at him a little before Damon nudged me "Union Flag?"

Mr Connolly nodded reluctantly "Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I do apologize."

"Well, don't get it wrong again," the blonde shrugged "There's a good man. Now get to it."

"Right then," the Doctor clapped "Nice and comfy, at Her Majesty's leisure." He leaned over to Rose "Union Flag?" The blonde settled on the sofa on Tommy's right, while the Doctor plopped down on his other side.

"Mum went out with a sailor," Rose shrugged.

The Time Lord laughed, winking at the boy next to him "Oh ho ho ho. I bet she did. Anyway, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. Tyra and Damon are over there. And you are?"

"Tommy," he replied.

"Have a look at this," the Doctor gestured "I love telly, don't you?"

Tommy smiled a genuine but small smile "Yeah, I think it's brilliant."

"Good man." The man on the TV was showing the viewers the vertebra of an ichthyosaurus or some other dinosaur. I never really studied the different kinds… "Keep working, Mr C," the Time Lord called over his shoulder "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

Mrs Connolly swallowed and glanced at her husband "Did you say you were a doctor?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, catching my eyes "I am."

"Can you help her?" the woman asked "Oh please, can you help her, Doctor?"

I tilted my head with a frowned, listening for other life signs in this house. When I heard another heartbeat, I leaned over to whisper into the Doctor's ear "There's someone upstairs. Heartbeats a little unsteady. I'm guessing an older person."

"Now then, Rita," Mr Connolly snapped "I don't think the gentleman needs to know."

The Doctor nodded at me before glaring at the man behind me "No, the gentleman does."

"Tell us what's wrong and we can help," Rose smiled gently. When Mrs Connolly burst into tears, the blonde got up to comfort her "I'm sorry. It's alright. Come here… It's okay."

"Hold on a minute," the man realized "Queen and Country is one thing but this is my house. What the…?" He threw down the bunting and puffed up in front of the Doctor "What the hell am I doing? Now you listen here, Doctor. You may have fancy qualifications but what goes on under my roof is my business."

The Time Lord stood up "A lot of people are being bundled into…"

"I am talking," Mr Connolly shouted in the Doctor's face.

"And I'm not listening," the Time Lord roared back "Now you, Mr Connolly, you are staring into a deep, dark pit of trouble if you don't let me help. So I'm ordering you, sir. Tell me what's going on and who the person upstairs is."

Mr Connolly blinked in surprise "How do you…?"

"I'm clever that way," the Doctor grinned before his head snapped up at the loud thumps that sounded from upstairs.

"She won't stop," Mr Connolly shook his head in defeat "She never stops."

Tommy licked his lips nervously "We started hearing stories, all around the place. People who've changed. Families keeping it secret because they were scared. Then the police started finding out. We don't know how no one does. They just turn up, come to the door and take them, any time of the day or night."

The Doctor breathed in deeply "Show me."

The four of us followed Tommy up the stairs and into a dark room "Gran?" the boy spoke up, stepping closer to the figure in the shadows "It's Tommy. It's alright, Gran. I brought help." He turned the light on, causing Rose to flinch back a little, while Damon just blinked. I stared at the old woman with no eyes, nose or mouth in shock. This was weird… Seriously weird.

"Her face is completely gone," the Doctor breathed, scanning her with his sonic "Scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown. She's ticking over. It's like her brain has been wiped clean."

Tommy looked at the man "What are we going to do, Doctor? We can't even feed her."

It was then that the front door was kicked in and several pairs of footsteps invaded the house "We've got company," Rose murmured.

"It's them," Mrs Connolly whispered in fear "They've come for her."

The Doctor turned to the Connollys "Quickly. What was she doing before this happened? Where was she? Tell me. Quickly, think."

"I can't think," Tommy shook his head "She doesn't leave the house. She was just…"

The burly men in black burst into the room and the Doctor stepped in front of them "Hold on a minute. There are three important, brilliant and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One…" Before he could continue, one of the men punched him in the face.

"Doctor," Rose gasped as I fell to my knees behind the unconscious Time Lord.

The men threw a blanket over the old woman and bundled her out while Rose was trying to wake the Doctor. I looked at Damon "Go and follow them. Keep out of sight, alright?"

"Sir, yes, sir," the younger vampire saluted playfully, disappearing from the room.

"Doctor," Rose called, shaking the man's shoulder.

I sighed "Oh for God's sake…" I slapped his cheeks carefully, making sure to keep it light.

The Doctor suddenly sat up, causing me to jerk back quickly to keep from getting hit in the head "Ah, hell of a right hook. Have to watch out for that." He jumped up and ran downstairs quickly.

"I sent Damon after them," I told the Time Lord "He'll keep an eye out."

"Thank you," the Doctor nodded, running out the door "Keep an eye on the people here, would you?"

Mr Connolly looked out the front door "Get back inside," he hissed at Tommy.

"But Dad," the boy argued "They took her."

"Don't fight it, son, Don't fight it."

I stared at the two of them for a moment before I turned around when Rose started talking to me "Tyra, come look at this."

"What is that?" I frowned, seeing the red energy coming from the television set "That doesn't look good."

The blonde turned the set around when the last of the energy disappeared into the aerial connection "Magpie's…"

"Anyway," Tommy's voice came from the entrance of the living room "How did they find her? Who told them?"

Mr Connolly entered, his gaze immediately falling on Rose and me "You! Get the hell out of my house."

"I'm going," Rose held up her hand "I'm done." She walked past the man and nodded to Tommy "Nice to meet you, Tommy, Mrs Connolly. And as for you, Mister Connolly, only an idiot hangs the Union Flag upside down. Shame on you."

I snorted at her dramatic exit, for once actually liking the other girl "Well, what can I say to that?" I stopped in front of Mr Connolly "You are despicable." Outside, Rose was leaning against the garden wall "So, Magpie's?"

"Yeah," the other girl nodded "You're coming?"

"I guess so," I mumbled, not sure whether to trust the peace. What the hell was Rose trying to do?"

The two of us started walking in the direction I had seen the van drive earlier "I'm gonna ask him too, you know?"

"What?" I blinked in confusion "Ask who what?"

"Your friend," Rose pointed out "Damon. I'm going to ask him to turn me."

I groaned. Of course, this was what it was about… "You haven't given up yet? I told you. Being a vampire is a pain in the ass and Damon won't change you, Rose. He's not the type."

"He seems like the type to turn people," the blonde pointed out.

"Oh, that's not what I mean," I smiled "Damon is the type for a quick bite and a fuck. He turns people but not because they ask him to. Good luck if you try."

Rose glared lightly "Then you do it."

I rolled my eyes "For the hundredth time. No. You seem to not like the word. No?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're a brat," I sneered, done with her shit "The Doctor tells you no and you just go ahead and do it anyway. I tell you no and you just ignore it. No matter what it seems like to you, I truly don't think you would do well as a vampire."

"I would be better than you," Rose smirked.

I shook my head "Your emotions would be heightened and the bloodlust is overwhelming. I'm not turning you and Damon won't either. If you really want to leave your mother then go right ahead. Find someone to kill you but I guarantee you that you will not be happy. That and you won't be able to be out during the day."

"But you can," the blonde huffed.

I shook my head in annoyance "You have to stop thinking that you are better than me. You are not."

"What? You're the greatest? Is that what you think?"

"No," I scoffed "I'm the opposite. I'm not denying that I'm a vampire and I did kill people but I am not a jealous little brat who wants things she can't have. Rose, I don't want to fight with you. I just want you to understand." Veins crawled underneath my eyes as I fought to control my temper "Even I have my limits. You are very lucky that I can actually control myself otherwise I would have killed you a long time ago. Doctor or not."

Rose paled, stumbling back "The Doctor would hate you."

"Hm," I hummed "Maybe. But even he won't stop me if you don't shut up about me."

"So what?" she challenged, her backbone shining through "You gonna compel me again?"

"No. I'm not," I told her quietly "I'm just warning you. I have been more patient than I have ever been and it's not because of you." With that said, I turned my head back forward and hummed "We're here."

Rose looked at the shop then back at me "You're not the boss of me, Tyra."

I raised my eyebrow "I know. Like I said. This is a warning. I can do so much worse than compel you not to slap me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Misses," Magpie looked up from his desk "I'm afraid you're too late. I was just about to lock the door."

Rose walked forward "Yeah? Well, I want to buy a telly."

"Come back tomorrow, please," the man murmured.

"You'll be closed, won't you?" the blonde questioned.

Magpie frowned "What?"

"The coronation," I pointed out.

"Yes, yes," he nodded quickly "Of course. The big day. I'm sure you'll find somewhere to watch it. Please go."

Rose narrowed her eyes "Seems to me like half of London's got a television since you're practically giving them away."

"I have my reasons," Magpie stated, glancing at the screens nervously.

"And what are they?"

I turned my head when I saw something appear on one of the screens out of the corner of my eye. A woman's face was showing "Hungry. Hungry."

"What the hell?" I breathed as Rose stepped closer to the screen.

The blonde looked at the woman "What's that?"

"It's just a television. One of these modern programmes," Magpie shook his head nervously, eying the woman in fear "Now, I really do think you should leave. Right now!"

"Not until you've answered my questions," Rose demanded "How come your televisions are so cheap?"

Magpie swallowed, his heartbeat picking up "It's my patriotic duty. Seems only right that as many folks as possible get to watch the coronation. We may be losing the Empire but we can still be proud. Twenty million people they'll reckon will be watching. Imagine that. And twenty million people can't be wrong, eh, so why don't you get yourselves back home and get up bright and early for the big day."

"You're lying," I pointed out.

Rose glanced at me before turning back to watch the man closely "I'm not leaving till I've seen everything."

"I need to close."

"Mr Magpie, something's happening out there," the blonde murmured "Ordinary people are being struck down and changed and the only new thing in the house is a television. Your televisions. What's going on?"

Magpie walked past us and locked the door "I knew this would happen. I knew I'd be found out."

"Alright, then. It's just the three of us. You going to come clean, then? What's really in it for you?" Rose fired rapidly.

Magpie grimaced weakly "For me? Perhaps some peace."

"From what?" I frowned, still watching the screen. The woman had been quiet. Too quiet for the fact that she had spoken just after she appeared. This was no TV programme.

He pointed to the screen I was staring at "From her."

"That's just a woman on the telly," Rose dismissed "That's just a programme."

The woman grinned "What pretty girls."

"Oh, my God… Are you talking to us?" Rose questioned, getting even closer. I stayed where I was, not sure what would happen but I was ready to run if necessary. One locked door was nothing against a vampire's strength.

"Yes," the woman nodded "I'm talking to you, little one. Unseasonably chilly for the time of year, don't you think?"

The blonde frowned "What are you?"

"I'm the Wire," the Wire told her "And I'm hungry." Energy lanced out and grabbed onto both Rose and me.

I sank to my knees, my energy depleting quickly, while Rose screamed out "Magpie, help me."

"Just think of that audience tomorrow, my dears, all settling down to watch the coronation," Magpie pointed out "Twenty million people. Thing will never be the same again." I fought to get to my feet again, grimacing against the pull on my face "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Help me," Rose choked out.

I ran forward blindly, grabbing the blonde's waist, throwing myself against the door. As soon as I was outside and away from the Wire's grasp, I stumbled again the wall on the other side of the pavement, lowering Rose to the ground "Crap," I cursed, seeing the lack of face. Dammit. I got her out too late. What was I supposed to do now? I looked up to the shop and saw Magpie coming towards me, so I quickly grabbed Rose and ran off until I couldn't carry her anymore. I sank to the ground, my strength gone. For some reason, the Wire had taken a lot out of me but not my face. Although it didn't make much sense to me that it took Rose's face but not mine.

I wasn't sure how long I sat on the ground with Rose practically on my lap when the black car pulled up next to me and the men from before got out "Get her into the car, quickly."

"No," I shook my head, holding onto the blonde weakly "The Doctor. I have to find the Doctor."

One of the men knelt down "Miss, did you see what did this?"

I nodded "Yes. I – I have to find the Doctor."

"Would you come with us, Miss," the man asked "We would like to ask you some questions."

"But…"

The man loosened my grip on Rose and pulled me up as soon as the other man had taken her into the car "I'll help you find your Doctor but you have to come with me now."

"Alright," I sighed. If I was right, the Doctor was where they were going to bring me to anyway… At least, I hoped he was.

The car ride was quiet as I spent most of the time with my head leaning against the window, trying to ignore the men's heartbeats and the scent of blood. I was hungry again, even though I only had blood yesterday.

"We're here. Come on," the man waved, holding out his hand to help me. I looked at it for a moment before getting out without his help "Follow me." He lead Rose out of the car and over to a door "Found another one, sir," the man spoke up "This time there was a witness."

I saw the Doctor, ignoring the other man behind the desk who started talking "Doctor," I breathed, wrapping my arms around his waist with my head nestled close to his throat.

I inhaled deeply and could feel the veins creeping underneath my eyes before I was yanked away. Damon turned me around by the shoulders "Tyra, don't."

"Sorry," I shook my head and looked up to see the Doctor staring at Rose "I'm sorry. I got out too late."

The Time Lord stepped towards the figure "Rose…"

"You know them?" the man behind the desk questioned, looking at me "Can you tell me what happened?"

Damon leaned down "You're going to feed from me later, alright?"

I nodded absentmindedly, watching the Doctor tug a strand of Rose's hair behind her ear "Er, yeah. It was that man… The one with the televisions. Magpie. There's something using the signals to take their faces," I explained "It called itself the Wire and it wants to… The coronation. It wants to eat everyone… I'm sorry, I don't know more than that."

"Let's get back to Florizel Street," the Doctor spoke up, his voice flat "I want to know what Tommy has to say."

It didn't take long until we were back in front of Tommy's house, waiting for someone to open the door. By now, it was the day of the coronation and as such the streets were practically empty. The Doctor rang the doorbell and waited impatiently "Tommy, talk to me," he started as soon as the boy opened the door "I need to know exactly what happened inside your house."

Tommy looked over his shoulder before stepping out, closing the door behind him. It didn't last however when Mr Connolly stormed out angrily "What the blazes do you think you're doing?"

"I want to help, Dad," Tommy said firmly.

The Doctor stepped up "Mr Connolly…"

"Shut your face, you, whoever you are," the man snapped "We can handle this ourselves." With that, he turned back to Tommy "Listen, you little twerp. You're hardly out of the blooming cradle, so I don't expect you to understand but I've got a position to maintain. People around here respect me. It matters what people think."

Tommy's eyes narrowed as Damon pulled me a little ways away. We could still hear everything that was going on but a hedge was blocking the humans' view of us "Is that why you did it, Dad?"

"Go on," Damon whispered.

I looked at him "Are you sure? I can… I can wait."

"No," he shook his head "I saw you wavering earlier. You need the blood more than I do… Go on."

"Fine," I swallowed, looking in the direction the Doctor was standing behind the younger vampire. I leaned up, wrapping my arms around the back of Damon's neck to keep my balance. Curse myself for being this small "Last chance."

Damon rolled his eyes "Just bite me already."

"No need to sound so desperate," I couldn't help but tease before I bit into the side of his throat, making sure to make it as painless as possible. While I was drinking, I couldn't help but look up to see whether someone was watching and sure enough, the Doctor was staring at us in surprise. At least, I thought it was surprise… After a few more pulls, I withdrew and licked at Damon's neck "Thank you, Damon."

"Hm," the other vampire nodded "Anything for you, baby."

I snorted, patting his cheek "Keep dreaming, big boy."

"Oh, I will," Damon replied flirtily. I never really minded Damon's flirting. In a way, it was kinda nice but both of us knew that we would never be more than friends. I never wanted us to be more than friends because that would mean setting myself up for disappointment. Had Damon not fallen in love with Katherine and now the human Doppelgänger, I might have made a move but I was done competing with Katerina.

When I chose to pay attention to the conversation again, Tommy was just releasing a rant that seemed to have built for a while "You don't get it, do you?" the boy started "You fought against fascism, remember? People telling you how to live, who you could be friends with, who you could fall in love with, who could live and who had to die. Don't you get it? You were fighting so that little twerps like me could do what we want, say what we want. Now you've become just like them." I walked up to Tommy, placing my hand on his shoulder. He was losing his determination but wanted to continue. Something I could admire… Something I had always been to scared to do "You've been informing on everyone, haven't you? Even Gran. All to protect your precious reputation."

"Eddie, is that true?" Mrs Connolly questioned, standing in the doorway.

The man turned around and swallowed "I did it for us, Rita. She was filthy. A filthy, disgusting thing."

"She's my mother," his wife argued "All the others you informed on, all the people in our street, our friends."

"I had to," Mr Connolly stuttered "I – I did the right thing."

Mrs Connolly smiled wryly "The right thing for us or for you, Eddie? You go, Tommy. Go with the Doctor and do some good. Get away from this house, it's poison. We had a ruddy monster under this roof, alright, but it wasn't my mother." She slammed the door shut in her husband's face.

"Rita," Mr Connolly shouted.

The Doctor who had been watching the confrontation silently, now gestured to the boy "Tommy?" As we were walking further down the street, a few people were coming out of their houses to set up the street party that was most likely going to happen later on "Tommy, tell me about that night. The night she changed. Tyra has seen what happened but I want to know what you saw."

"She was just watching the telly," the boy mumbled, looking up at me.

The Doctor hummed "Rose said it. She guessed it straight away. Of course, she did." I had to fight an eye roll at that "All these aerials in one little street."

"The shop that sold the TVs is up the road, Doctor," I told him "He's working with the Wire for some reason. He wouldn't really say."

"Is he, now?" Bishop frowned in suspicion.

The Time Lord took a deep breath "Come on." We were by the store in less time than it took Rose and I. Granted, we had been talking about some unpleasant things and had walked slower than normal, so it shouldn't really be a surprise. The Doctor pulled out his sonic, opening the door easily.

" _Here, you can't do that,_ " Bishop protested but walked into the shop behind the Doctor.

I hesitated outside, looking from the Doctor to Damon "I don't think I want a repeat of what happened last night. You can go in if you want but I'm staying here."

" _Shop,_ " the Doctor exclaimed inside the building " _If you're here, come out and talk to me. Magpie._ "

Tommy stepped up beside him " _Maybe he's out._ "

"What's with the looks?" Damon asked suddenly.

I blinked, turning my attention to the younger vampire "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you think I haven't noticed how the Doctor is practically glaring daggers at me every time I get close to you?" Damon asked.

"What?" I tilted my head "I honestly have no idea what you're saying."

The Salvatore snorted "Then you're oblivious. That guy is very much into you and I'm almost sure you feel the same way."

"I don't," I replied immediately "He's my friend. Nothing more."

"I don't believe that for one moment," Damon shook his head "But I can also see that you're too stubborn to see reason now… Can I just ask one more thing?" When I nodded, he continued "What's up with you and blondie?"

I watched the Doctor rummage through some drawers by the counter " _Oh, hello,_ " he murmured, pulling out a small portable television " _This isn't right. This is very much not right._ " I grimaced when he licked it, having given up on keeping tab of how many gross things that man has already licked " _Tastes like iron. Bakelite. Put together with human hands, yes, but the design itself. Oh, beautiful work. This is so simple._ "

"Nothing," I told Damon "Rose is just… Well, she got worse after she found out about me being a vampire. That reminds me… She'll most likely try and get you to turn her. She's been harassing me for a while now and told me that she would be asking you too since I told her I wouldn't ruin her life."

Damon frowned "Why does she want to be changed? I mean, from what I've seen she's not… Suitable at all."

"That's what I said too," I grumbled "Rose got the idea after meeting a former Companion of the Doctor. She 'doesn't want to leave him'. Ever."

"Are you kidding?" the Salvatore shook his head "I mean, I never wanted to be a vampire and if wasn't for Stefan… You and Sage helped me a lot, helped me to make the most. Even if you hadn't told me about her, I wouldn't have turned her. She pisses me off."

I wrapped my arms around his waist "Thank you, Damon. I really appreciate it."

"What I don't get is why you don't do anything against her. You've never been a pushover."

I rubbed my forehead violently as the Wire made an appearance inside "To be honest, I'm tired. Tired of her shit, tired of everything. When I met the Doctor it was one of the best things that could have happened and I don't want to do anything to ruin it. I'm holding onto my temper… barely but I do."

" _Good Lord,_ " Bishop breathed, staring at a screen " _Colour television._ "

The Doctor tilted his head " _So your own people tried to stop you?"_

" _They executed me,_ " the Wire spat " _But I escaped in this form and fled across the stars._ "

"What is that thing?" Damon questioned, staring into the shop in confusion.

I shrugged "No clue. But it hurts like hell, so I'll gladly never go near it ever again."

The Doctor's eyes darted towards us " _And now you're trapped in the television._ "

" _Not for much longer,_ " the Wire smirked.

Tommy looked from the screen to the Doctor " _Doctor, is this what got my Gran?_ "

" _Yes, Tommy,_ " the Time Lord nodded " _It feeds off the electrical activity of the brain but it gorges itself like a great overfed pig, taking people's faces, their essences. It stuffs itself._ "

" _Is that what she tried to do to Tyra?_ " the boy wanted to know.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the worry in his voice. Damon smirked and poked my cheek "Looks like people are still falling for you left and right. That kid has a crush."

"Shut up, Damon," I shook my head "At least, I don't keep falling for Doppelgängers."

"Oh," he huffed "Low blow…"

I smiled "Well, your choices are unsurprisingly bad."

Inside the shop, Bishop gasped " _Doctor, the coronation._ "

" _For the first time in history, millions gathered around a television set. But you're not strong enough yet, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this._ " The Doctor held up the portable television " _You need something more powerful. This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver._ "

The Wire sent the Time Lord a sneer " _What a clever thing you are. But why fret about it? Why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the coronation. Believe me, you'll be glued to the screen._ " The same energy that had latched onto me, reached out to the three in the shop.

I jerked, wanting to run inside to help them but Damon wrapped an arm around my waist "Don't. You still haven't gotten your strength left. Look, the Doctor has a plan. Just…" I was still fighting against him a little "Tyra. No."

" _Hungry. Hungry. The Wire is hungry,_ " the woman shouted _"Ah, this one is tasty. Oh, I'll have lashings of him. Delicious._ " The Doctor started to finger his sonic and the Wire gaped _"Ah! Armed… He's armed and clever. Withdraw. Withdraw._ " As she said that, the Wire pulled back, causing Tommy, Bishop and the Doctor to collapse to the floor. The Time Lord and Tommy seemed to be fine, unconscious but fine. Bishop, on the other hand, had his face taken _"The box, Magpie. The box. Hold tight._ " The Wire zapped herself into the portable television _"Conduct me to my victory, Magpie."_

I pulled Damon away from the door and into the shadows, making sure that Magpie wouldn't be able to see the two of us. The man climbed into a van, driving off quickly "Come on," I murmured, falling to my knees next to the Doctor "Wake up." The Doctor opened his eyes, immediately noticing the blank policeman and Damon who was trying to wake up Tommy "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Ty," the Time Lord smiled lightly, reaching out to touch my face.

I pulled him into a standing position "Sorry that I couldn't help but…"

He shook his head "I hoped you wouldn't, to be honest. Not after what happened earlier."

"I should apologize though," I sighed, running a hand through my hair as Damon helped Tommy to his feet "I almost bit you earlier."

Realization dawned on his face "That's why you drank from Damon?"

"Yup."

Tommy tilted his head at us "What happened?"

I blinked "Oh, right. Magpie left. Sorry, I didn't think about following him."

"At least you've got the no wandering off thing down," the Time Lord shrugged before bursting out of the shop, looking up and down the street "The Wire's got big plans. It'll need… Yes, yes, yes. It's got to harvest half the population. Millions and millions of people and…" He turned to Tommy "Where are we?"

"Muswell Hill," the boy pointed out.

The Time Lord nodded thoughtfully "Muswell Hill. Muswell Hill. Which means Alexandra Palace, biggest TV transmitter in North London. Oh, that's why it chose this place. Tommy?"

"What are you going to do?" Tommy frowned in confusion.

"We're going shopping," the Doctor grinned, whirling around to walk back into the shop.

I shrugged when Tommy looked at me "Normally it's better to just nod and go along with what he planned."

"So he's always like that?"

"Just about," I laughed and followed the Doctor who was rooting around the store "So, what are you looking for?"

"This – This thing," the Doctor gestured "Kind of like a…" He tried to explain what he needed exactly but was failing miserably.

Tommy picked up what seemed to be a big valve "Is this it?"

"Perfect," the Time Lord exclaimed, his arms laden with bits and pieces "Right, I need one more thing." He handed Tommy and Damon the collection of part and ran outside to the Tardis. The three of us followed behind, waiting for him to come back "Got it," he proclaimed "Let's go."

It didn't take us long to reach Alexandra Palace, the Doctor building his contraption while running through the streets. Tommy kept his eye on the transmitter by the palace. The boy gasped "There." I turned my head to see Magpie climbing his way up the transmitter.

"Come on," the Doctor called out, about to run past a guard.

The Guard stepped into our way "Wait, wait, wait. Where do you think…"

Damon pushed me past him "Go. I'll take care of this."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes "Just go." The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

"What's he doing?" Tommy questioned, glancing over his shoulder.

"He's making sure the guard doesn't remember," I told him "I really like compulsion…"

In the control room, the gestured to the controls "Keep this switched on. Don't let anyone stop you, Tommy. Tyra will take care of any people coming in… Everything depends on it. You understand?" Tommy nodded as the Doctor grabbed a coil of copper wire, running outside to make his way up the transmitter.

"You're holding up remarkably well," I remarked, looking at Tommy who was doing as the Doctor asked.

Tommy smiled lightly "This is easily the best thing that ever happened… What with my father…"

"About that," I bit my lip "I'm going to give you some advice. You can choose to ignore it but… Yeah." I broke off for a moment, looking at the small screen that showed the coronation "You should give him another chance. Tell him what you feel, what you think… He's your father and while he messed up, there is still a chance that he can be redeemed."

The boy looked away "You don't know how it feels," he whispered.

"I know exactly how it feels," I told him, slightly harsher than I wanted to "My father is one of those people who are a lost cause."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked, stopping what he was doing for a moment.

I closed my eyes before looking at the red energy that had started creeping into the room "He… He's been hunting my siblings and me for ages, abused me and two of my brothers and treated us like crap. There are a lot of reasons why I hate him."

Suddenly, the valves blew, causing us to turn away to not get hit "What do we do now?" Tommy breathed.

I threw him the replacement we had brought from the shop "Use this. Hurry." Tommy worked quickly and plugged the contraption back in. A few moments later, the red energy retreated back up the mast, leaving the room a mess.

Ten minutes later, the Doctor strolled into the room, looking no worse for the wear "What have I missed?"

"Doctor!" Tommy jumped up "What happened."

The Time Lord held up the portable TV "Sorted. Electrical creature, TV technology, clever alien life form. That's me by the way…" He grinned, pulling me into a hug "I turned the receiver back into a transmitter and I trapped the Wire in here."

I blinked at the contraption "You… used a VCR?"

"I just invented the home video thirty years early," the Doctor pointed out smugly "Betamax. Oh, look." He turned to the screen that was showing the coronation "God save the Queen, eh?"

We met Damon outside before making our way back to the Yard where the men had brought me and Rose after our run-in with the Wire last night. The Doctor lead us into a room with a cell that was holding a lot of confused people, their faces restored.

Sometime later, I was standing with Tommy and Damon, looking at the people celebrating with a small smile. The boy turned to look at me "What you told me earlier… Do you really think I should give him a chance?"

"Listen, I don't think I'm the best person to tell anyone what to do in this situation," I murmured, biting my lip "My father… Well, I would gladly see him dead. But your situation is different. Just give him another chance and don't let him push you around."

"We could go down the Mall," Rose pointed out, standing with the Doctor a little bit to the side "Join in with the crowds."

The Doctor shook his head "Nah, that's just pomp and circumstance. This is history right here."

I jerked my head in their direction, gesturing for Tommy to come along "It's a bit scary seeing you actually go for the domestic thing," I teased, nudging the Doctor's shoulder.

"Hey," the Time Lord pouted.

Rose shifted, looking at the tape nervously "That thing… Is it trapped for good on video?"

"Hope so," the Doctor shrugged "Just to be on the safe side though, I'll use my unrivalled knowledge of transtemporal extripation methods to neutralise the residual electronic pattern." When we all stared at him weirdly he grinned "I'm going to tape over it."

"Just leave it to me," Rose snorted "I'm always doing that."

The Doctor smirked at the blonde and turned to the boy next to me "Tell you what, Tommy, you can have the scooter. Little present. Best – er – keep it in the garage for another few years though, eh?"

It was then that someone caught my eye. At the edge of the crowd was a familiar figure that sent a wave of terror through me "Doctor, can we leave?"

"What?"

"We need to leave," I repeated, keeping my eyes on the man at the other end of the street "Now." When neither Rose nor the Doctor reacted, I grabbed their arms, looking Damon in the eyes "Remember what I said, Tommy." With that, I dragged the two back to the Tardis, throwing the door shut behind the four of us. By now, I was trembling from the fear "What year is it again?"

The Doctor looked down at me in confusion "1953." His expression changed when he took in my face and stepped closer "Why? What's wrong?"

I shook my head and swallowed "N – Nothing. Can we just go?"

"Ty…"

"No," I cut him off sharply and squeezed past him, practically running back to my room. When the door clicked closed behind me, I slid to the ground, tears filling my vision. How could I have forgotten about him? The man – The person at the other end of the alley had been none other than my father. That should teach me to talk about him to someone else. Especially when I should have known that he was still around.

**Third** **Person PoV**

Damon, Rose and the Doctor stared after the Original in confusion. The Time Lord had never seen Tyra this way. It was like she was terrified to stay outside longer than necessary. There was something seriously wrong with her and he would be damned if he didn't get it out of her.

Before he could walk out of the console room and after his friend, Rose stopped him "Don't. I'll go and make sure she's alright," the blonde said with a fake smile. She was getting really mad. Why did Tyra always have to ruin things for her?

"Are you… Are you sure?" the Doctor asked, frowning at his Companion. He knew that the two girls didn't get along too well but since they didn't fight, he didn't really want to get into their business.

Rose nodded "Yeah, sure. I mean, we haven't really been getting along and I think that I should maybe get to know Tyra better."

"That's… Alright," the Time Lord nodded "I need to check something over here. I think the Tardis broke something again. Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Yes," the blonde told him, turning to walk out of the console room. As soon as she was out of view, the Doctor turned to the monitor, trying to find out what scared Tyra as much as it had. He saw her smile dropping and her staring into the crowd of people but there was nothing that stood out, nothing that would get this reaction from the Original.

Damon walked up to the Time Lord, looking over his shoulder "I don't think it was a good idea to send blondie after Tyra…" When the Doctor didn't answer, he turned his attention to the monitor "What did she see?"

"I have no idea," the Doctor mumbled, shaking his head "There's nothing there. Only people."

"Maybe that's the problem," the Salvatore mumbled, staring at the crowd on the screen. There was no one he recognized but that didn't mean anything. Tyra was older than him by a lot.

Meanwhile, Rose stormed through the corridors, trying to find Tyra's room. She had never been there before and just when she was sure that she was lost, there was a door with the vampire's name on it. Without knocking, Rose practically kicked the door open, stomping into the room "What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed at the girl.

Tyra slowly got up from the floor, wiping at her eyes "What are you talking about?" she sighed tiredly. The last thing she needed right now was more of Rose's shit.

"I bet you loved that, didn't you?" the blonde demanded, her hands on her hips. She really didn't care about the fact that Tyra had been crying. The only thing that was important was that the other girl dragged her away from having a good time.

"Rose, can you leave?" Tyra murmured, running a hand through her hair "I really don't…"

Rose shook her head, cutting the Original off "You know what? I bet you only dragged us away because you knew that I wanted to stay."

"Now you're just full of shit," the vampire shot back "I don't care what you think. Leave or I will make you."

The nineteen-year-old glared at the girl in front of her for a moment before she huffed "Fine. You're such a bitch, Tyra."

As soon as she was gone, the Original closed the door, sinking back to the floor in front of her bed. Her head was resting against the mattress and her knees drawn to her chest. She was still berating herself over not thinking that Mikael could have been there. What would have happened if he'd seen her? That would have been a disaster.

She wasn't sure how much time passed until there was a quiet knock at the door and the Doctor walked in "Hey," he murmured, looking down at the small form of the vampire.

"Hi," she whispered back, not moving from her curled up position.

The Time Lord sat down next to her, tilting his head "Do you want to tell me what that was about?"

"Not really, no," Tyra shook her head "I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong," the Doctor told her firmly. He glanced at the vampire again and was shocked to notice that there were tears falling from her eyes. The Doctor had never seen her cry… Well, almost never. The only time had been when she was eaten by the Reaper "Ty, what's this?" He reached out to wipe away the tears and pulled her into a tight hug.

The vampire burrowed into his embrace "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"We both know that you're not," the Doctor snapped before taking a deep breath "I'm sorry but you know that you can tell me anything, right?"

"I really don't want to talk about it, Doctor," Tyra insisted quietly.

The Time Lord sighed "It's okay to be scared, Ty. Everyone is scared of something whether it's irrational or not." He paused, making sure that the girl was listening to him "I told you about the initiation ceremony of the Academy, right? What I didn't tell you is that I – As soon as I was staring into the Schism, I ran. I was scared and I ran and I haven't stopped since. That might be cowardly but there are so many good things that came from it. Hadn't I run away, I would have never met you. I would have never seen all the wonders the universe has to offer."

There were a few moments of silence in which the two just sat next to each other comfortably before Tyra took a deep breath "Mikael," she admitted in a barely audible voice "Mikael was in the crowd."

"Your father?"

"Yeah," the Original nodded "I – As soon as I saw him… I just…" She broke off, shaking her head "I shouldn't have made you leave. I'm sorry."

The Doctor tilted her chin up "Hey, no. Don't apologize for that. From what you've told me, I'm not keen on meeting the man. There's really nothing to be sorry for. Being scared is normal and like I said… Everyone is scared of something or someone and sometimes it's just easier to run away than to face this fear."


	11. Impossible Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here it is. Before I go into the chapter, there's something I have to explain. This chapter and the next are going to be a little different than the others. There will be more PoV skips because I want to show what happens with Tyra AND Damon or the Doctor. It really depends. It will be labelled as I always label it with 'Tyra PoV' or 'Third Person PoV'.
> 
> Aaanyway, thanks for the Reviews I have already gotten from you guys. I appreciate it.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

**Third Person PoV**

The console room was quiet when Damon entered one morning, a few days after the events in London. The only thing that could be heard was low muttering from the central console "Doctor," the vampire spoke up.

The Time Lord shot up, hitting his head on the bottom of the console "Dammit," he cursed, rubbing at his forehead with a pained expression on his face.

Damon grinned a little, walking over to the other man "Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you."

"It's fine," the Doctor sighed "I should be used to Tyra already but… Well, I'm not."

"Oh, I'm sure that you're more than used to her already," the Salvatore smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

The Doctor stiffened in surprise "I don't know what you mean."

"Sure you don't," the vampire agreed sarcastically "You know that you don't have to lie to me, right? I've seen the looks you sent her and how the two of you always seem to be touching."

"What are you…?"

Damon held up his head "Don't make a fool of yourself by denying it. It's kinda cute how jealous you are."

"I'm not…" the Doctor trailed off "I – I have no idea why I am feeling this way."

"I get it, I really do," Damon shrugged "Tyra is an amazing girl and you know that she trusts you when she opens up and becomes the person you see everyday. I have known her for almost my entire vampire life, Doctor and I know that she only pushes people away because she doesn't want to get hurt." When he saw the stirrings of jealousy in the Doctor's eyes he sighed "She's like my little sister… No matter if she's older than me or not. When she saved me from the Augustines… I had almost given up but she never left my side." The vampire licked his lips, sinking down on the jump seat "Is it weird that I'm closer to her than to my own brother?"

The Time Lord shook his head "I don't think so. She has that effect on people. I mean, I've never seen her kill someone or anything but I know that she's capable of it…"

"That really bothers you, doesn't it?" Damon frowned. He liked the Doctor and knew that they were both so in love… Or would be. It got more and more confusing the more he thought about it.

"Not in the way you think," the Doctor told him defensively. As soon as he said the words, he knew that the vampire had misunderstood "It scares me that I don't mind. Tyra is protective over the people she cares for and she's been hurt so badly and even though all of that happened to her, she's still this sweet person who cares even if she hides it."

Damon sighed "It feels wrong to talk about her but I felt like you needed to know. I know that she does like you but she's scared. Also, I don't think she understands what she's feeling quite yet because she's never been in love. Her siblings kept her away from attention, I think. She never told me much about them, to be honest, only how stifling it was to always be protected."

"Yes, I got that from the talks we had," the Time Lord nodded.

"Are you going to tell her?" the Salvatore asked "Because I think you should."

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "I think I will once I figure out what exactly I feel. I mean, I'm pretty sure I know but… It takes time. I've locked myself away for so long because I never thought that someone would be able to spent my life with me after my people died…"

Damon held up his hands in surrender "I'm not rushing you. Call it encouragement. Speaking of time… Why did you take me along?"

"Because Tyra asked," the Doctor said without a moment of hesitation. That was it, right? He wanted to make Tyra happy and the fact that she wanted Damon to come along was something he could do. Even if he had been jealous of the younger vampire "Things happened in the parallel universe and… I felt like seeing you would make her feel better."

"That's all I needed to know," Damon grinned and clapped him on the shoulder "Thank you. For making her feel wanted and for allowing me to travel with you. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," the Time Lord blinked, watching the vampire walk away in the direction where he knew Tyra's room was. The Doctor tugged at his ear before shrugging his shoulders. This was easily the most bizarre talk he had in a while.

**Tyra PoV**

As soon as we had filed out of the Tardis, the Doctor put his hand on the wooden frame worriedly "I don't know what's wrong though… She's sort of queasy. Indigestion, like she didn't want to land."

"Oh," Rose muttered in disappointment "If you think there's going to be trouble, we could always get back inside and go somewhere else."

They both started laughing while Damon and I exchanged a look. The younger vampire looked at them "Is this a good idea? I mean, we don't even know where we are."

The Time Lord shrugged lightly "What could possibly go wrong?" He jerked his head in the direction of the door "I think we've landed inside a cupboard. Here we go."

" _Open door 15,_ " the computer announced as we walked through the door to the cupboard.

"Some sort of base," the Doctor mused, looking around curiously "Moon base, sea base, space base. They build these things out of kits."

" _Close door 15._ "

Rose shifted uncomfortably when banging sounded all around us "Glad we're indoors. Sounds like a storm out there."

" _Open door 16._ "

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Damon murmured, leaning down to murmur into my ear.

I shrugged "There's not much we can do. The Doctor does what he wants and I certainly can't stop him."

The younger vampire sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Then what can we do?"

"Make sure no one dies?" I offered with a grimace "Maybe this won't be too bad but… Just be prepared."

" _Open door 17._ "

"You feel it too, don't you?" Damon questioned. I nodded. Ever since I had stepped out of the Tardis, there had been this feeling. I couldn't even try to describe it. It felt like there was an oppressive presence somewhere beneath us…

The Doctor made a noise at the back of his throat "Oh, it's a sanctuary base."

" _Close door 17._ "

"Deep Space exploration," the Time Lord continued, tilting his head to listen to the noise that was coming from underneath "We've gone way out. And listen to that, underneath. Someone's drilling."

Rose meanwhile had looked around the room before focussing on one of the walls "Welcome to hell."

"Oh, it's not that bad," the Doctor snorted.

"No," the blonde laughed "Over there." The words were painted on the wall in big, bold letters with some sort of alien script underneath it.

The Doctor ran up the stairs, crouching down "Hold on, what does that say?"

"Doesn't the Tardis translate everything but Gallifreyan?" I questioned, stepping closer to him.

"Exactly," the Time Lord pointed to me "It's not Gallifreyan. And if it's not working, then it means this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old. We should find who's in charge." He started to spin the wheel on another of the bulkhead doors "We've gone beyond the reach of the Tardis' knowledge. Not a good move. And if someone's lucky enough…"

" _Open door 19._ " Damon quickly pulled me behind him when aliens with tentacles were revealed just outside the door the Doctor had just opened. They all had tubes going in behind the tentacles, carrying a white globe in their hands.

The Doctor reared back in surprise "Oh. Right… Hello. Sorry. I was just saying, er, nice base."

"We must feed," all tentacle aliens chorused.

"You've got to… what?" the Time Lord blinked.

They stepped forward in sync "We must feed."

Rose pulled at the Doctor's arm "Yeah. I think they mean us." The aliens entered, causing Rose and the Doctor to back away, while Damon sped us to the other side of the room, still keeping me behind him.

I rolled my eyes "Damon…"

"What?" the younger vampire tilted his head, keeping an eye on the aliens.

"Never mind," I sighed in exasperation. Stupid men and their stupid… cavemen behaviour.

More of those aliens came in through the other door, surrounding the four of us while always repeating "We must feed." Just as they came almost too close, one of the tentacle things tapped his globe in confusion "You, if you are hungry."

The Doctor straightened up "Sorry?"

"We apologise," the aline said "Electromagnetics have interfered with speech systems. Would you like some refreshment?"

I snorted when the Doctor started stuttering and shook my head "No, thank you."

" _Open door 18_."

A small group of people burst into the room, freezing when they saw us standing there. An older man blinked "What the hell? How did…?" He stepped closer, making his way through the aliens "Captain, you're not going to believe this… We've got people. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean four living people."

"Debatable," Damon snorted under his breath from where he was still standing in front of me.

"Just standing right here in front of me," the man finished, staring at us in shocked surprise.

A voice came out of the wrist computer " _Don't be stupid, that's impossible_."

"I suggest you tell them that," the man in front of us shot back.

Rose frowned "But you're a sort of space base. You must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible."

The man titled his head "You're telling me you don't know where you are?"

I snorted, grinning back at the Doctor "When do we ever?"

"Oi," the Time Lord huffed "It's more fun that way."

Damon hummed "Yeah, not too sure about that one, Doc."

The Doctor groaned "Oh, not you too." He then pointed at me accusingly "This is all your fault. You're such a bad influence."

"In more way than one," Rose breathed quietly enough so that only Damon and I could hear her.

All of a sudden, a woman's voice came over the tannoy " _Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake point five on its way._ "

The man opened a door, gesturing for us to go through "Through here, now. Quickly, come on. Move." I ducked past him, keeping one eye on Damon and the others, while the younger vampire did the same as conduits banged overhead "Move it. Come on. Keep moving. Come on… Quickly. Move it."

We burst through another room into what appeared to be a control room with more people working at several panels "Oh, my God," one of the men there breathed "You meant it."

"People," the same voice from the tannoy added "Real people."

The Doctor waved with a small smile "That's us. Hooray."

"Yeah," Rose nodded "Definitely real. My name's Rose. Rose Tyler. And – and this is the Doctor, Damon and Tyra."

Another man stood up, looking at us weirdly "Come on the oxygen must be offline. We're hallucinating. They can't be." He reached his hand out to touch my shoulder before pulling back just as quickly "No, they're real."

"Come on, we're in the middle of an alert," the first man who had spoke up snapped "Danny, strap up. The quake's coming in. Impact in thirty seconds. Sorry you four, whoever you are. Just… hold on, tight."

Rose frowned "Hold on to what?"

"Anything," the man shrugged "I don't care. Just hold on. Ood, are we fixed?"

One of the tentacle aliens inclined his head "Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated."

I held onto the railing behind me with Damon practically wrapping around me. What was with him today? He was way more clingy than normal… The Doctor did the same before turning back to the others "What's this planet called, anyway?"

"Don't be stupid," the older woman shot back "It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name? You really don't know, do you?"

"And impact."

As soon as those words were spoke the whole place shook for a few moment but let off quickly "Oh, well, that wasn't so bad," the Doctor murmured, letting go of the railing as it started again, this time much, much worse. The ceiling looked close to caving in and consoles burst into fire. Damon flinched away from me when a fire started close to where we were standing.

"Okay, that's it," the first man nodded "Everyone alright? Speak to me, Ida."

"Yeah, yeah," the older woman nodded breathlessly.

"Danny?"

"Fine," the guy who had touched my shoulder gave back.

"Toby?"

"Yeah, fine," the man who hadn't spoke up so far answered.

"Scooti?"

The younger of the two women gave thumps up "No damage."

"Jefferson?"

"Check," the man who had brought us here called, making sure to use a fire extinguisher to get rid of the fires as quickly as possible.

The Doctor straightened his suit and rolled his eyes "We're fine, thanks, fine. Yeah, don't worry about us."

"The surface caved in," the only one I didn't know the name of yet pointed out, looking at the schematics of the base "I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link."

Toby shook his head "That's not my department."

"Just do as I say, yeah?" the man in charge muttered and Toby looked at him for a moment before he left.

"Oxygen holding," Ida announced "Internal gravity fifty-six point six. We should be okay."

Rose laughed breathlessly "Never mind the earthquake, that's – that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?"

Scooti raised an amused eyebrow "You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane. There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum."

"Then what's shaking the roof?" the blonde asked, completely confused by now.

"You're not joking," Ida breathed, looking at all of us in realization "You really don't know. Well, introductions. FYI, as they said in the olden days…"

Damon raised his eyebrows "Olden days? That makes me feel old."

I barely turned my head back "You are old, Damon. Face it."

"Says the dinosaur," he laughed.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and wrapped his hand around my mouth "Shush. No talking now."

"Hmpf," I huffed, my eyes shining with amusement. I could have easily gotten rid of his hand but… Why would I?

The woman continued "I'm Ida Scott, science officer. Zachary Cross Flane, acting captain, sir. You've met Mister Jefferson, he's Head of Security. Danny Bartock, Ethics committee."

"Not as boring as it sounds," Danny threw in with a small grimace.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zedd, Archaeology. And this is Scooti Manista," Ida placed both her hands on the younger woman's shoulders "Trainee maintenance. And this? This is home." She pulled a lever.

Zach looked at us "Brace yourselves," he murmured seriously "The sight of it sends some people mad." The shutters overhead pulled back to reveal a white-hot, angry disc with a black centre and black dots falling into it.

I blinked up, pulling the Doctor's hand from my mouth "A black hole," I stated, sounding somewhat unimpressed even though the sight was something I never thought I'd see… "Another thing I can cross off my non-existent bucket list."

"That's a black hole," Rose repeated, staring at the ceiling in shock.

The Doctor shook his head "But that's impossible."

"I did warn you," Zach shrugged.

"We're standing under a black hole," the Time Lord pointed out.

"In orbit," Ida corrected.

"But we can't…"

Ida gestured up "You can see for yourself. We're in orbit."

"But we can't be," the Doctor hissed out.

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss," Ida explained, ending with a small smile.

Damon looked up and then back down "I have no idea what's going on."

"What? Never studied space, did you?" I bantered before shrugged "Yeah, I barely know what's happening right now either. Other than the fact that this shouldn't be possible at all and that it's somewhat bad." I knew the basics about black holes but never really looked in further. Travelling with the Doctor sort of made it impossible not to pick up some useful things about other planets and the universe in general… Black hole were a different matter.

"Somewhat?" the Doctor whirled around "Bad doesn't even cover it. A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and right it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time. Everything just gets pulled inside and crushed."

Rose blinked a few times, letting the explanation sink in "So… They can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in."

"We should be dead," the Time Lord shook his head.

"And yet," Ida spoke up "Here we are. Beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board."

Rose squinted up "But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" She pointed to the clouds and the dots that were being pulled in.

I licked my lips "Stars, right? Those are the remains of stars?"

"Exactly," Ida nodded "It is stars breaking up. Gas clouds. We have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads, before falling into that thing."

Rose shifted, looking at the Doctor who was still staring at the ceiling "So, a bit worse than a storm, then."

"Just a bit," Ida shrugged.

The blonde ran a hand through her hair "Just a bit, yeah."

" _Close door 1_."

Toby came back into the room, looking more than a little out of it "The rocket link's fine."

Zach called up a hologram over the central console "That's the black hole, officially designated K three seven Gen five."

Ida stepped next to him "In the scriptures of the Falltino, this planet was called Kroptor, the bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demand. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out, because it was poison."

"The bitter pill," Rose hummed "I like that."

I was sitting on the stairs we came in through, leaning against Damon while watching the people in front of us converse. There really wasn't much we could do at the moment "We are so far out," the Doctor spoke up softly "Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?"

"We flew in," Zach told us "You see, this planet's generating a gravity field. We don't know how. We've no idea. But it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there as a funnel. A distinct gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"You flew down that thing?" Rose questioned disbelievingly "Like a roller-coaster."

Zach raised his eyebrow at the blonde "By rights, the ship should have been torn apart. We lost the captain, which is what put me in charge."

"You're doing a good job," Ida told him firmly.

"Yeah," Zach shrugged "Well, needs must."

Danny jumped in "But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out."

"We had fun speculating about that," Scooti grinned, standing somewhere close to where I was sitting.

Danny shot her a look "Oh, yeah. That's the word. Fun."

I stood up "Correct me if I'm wrong but this has all the makings of a trap. There's only one way in and out. Should it cut off, there's nothing." I turned to the Doctor "And we're on a planet that shouldn't even exist. I don't know about you but that does sound rather suspicious."

The Doctor nodded absentmindedly "That field would take phenomenal amounts of power. I m ean not just big, but off the scale… Can I?"

"Sure," Ida gestured "Help yourself."

One of the tentacled aliens handed Rose a tiny plastic cup that smelt weird even from across the room "Your refreshment."

"Oh, yeah," Rose smiled, taking the cup "Thanks. Thank you." She stopped the alien when it was about to walk away "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"We have no titles," the alien replied "We are as one."

The blonde stared after it and turned to look at Danny "Er, what are they called?"

"Oh, come on," Danny rolled his eyes "Where have you been living? Everyone's got one."

"Well, not me," Rose shot back "So what are they?"

Danny tilted his head "They're the Ood."

"The… Ood?"

The man nodded "The Ood."

"Well, that's Ood," Rose joked.

"Very Ood," Danny smiled "But handy. They work the mine shafts. All the drilling and stuff. Supervision and maintenance. They're born for it. Basic slave race."

Damon shook his head and glared at Danny. He turned to me "That's crap. Do you remember when it was African Americans and just black people in general who were 'born to be slaves'?"

"Yup," I shrugged "Hard not to know when some people still think that… Honestly, I hated it. My siblings and I had servants. Most of them were compelled and – well, drained… so I can't say that I was much better… Still. I never liked having them around."

Rose stared at them in shock "You've got slaves?"

"Don't start," Scooti shook her head at Danny "She's like one of that lot. Friends of the Ood."

"Well, maybe I am," the blonde shot back even though it was obvious she had no idea what 'Friends of the Ood' were "Since when do humans need slaves?"

I stepped between them, looking at Rose "It's another culture, Rose. You grew up knowing what happened with the slaves and stuff but think about it. Damon grew up around the Civil War. For him it was normal. They don't know any different, so just… Calm down."

"No," Rose hissed, trying to shove me to the side. I let her move me a little bit but only as to appear human. No need to show everyone I meet that I was a vampire "It's wrong."

Danny reached out to steady me "The Ood offer themselves. If you don't give them orders, they just pine away and die."

The blonde time traveller turned to one of the Ood who walked past her "Seriously, you like being ordered about?"

"It is all we crave," the Ood agreed.

"Why's that then?" Rose blinked.

The Ood looked at her "We have nothing else in life."

Suddenly, the Doctor straightened, letting out a noise of triumph "There we go. Do you see? To generate that gravity field and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

"That's a lot of sixes," Rose pointed out.

"And it's impossible," the Doctor added.

Zach gaped up at the Time Lord "It took us two years to work that out."

"I'm very good," the Doctor told him, shooting me a wink.

I scoffed ending in a laugh "Is your ego bigger on the inside as well?"

Damon snorted, trying to hide it with a cough "I taught you well, little one."

"Excuse me? Who is the one who taught who?" I crossed my arms.

"I have no idea what you just said," the younger vampire blinked.

The Doctor grinned at us, shaking his head "Really, you two? Can't you at least act as if you're adults?"

"But that's why we're here," Ida cut us off before we could continue "This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We're drilling down to try and find it."

Zach nodded "It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazon scale.

"It could revolutionize modern science," Ida gushed.

"We could use it to fuel the Empire," Jefferson added.

The Time Lord looked at them "Or start a war."

"It's buried beneath us," Toby spoke up "In the darkness, waiting."

Rose threw him an annoyed look "What's your job, chief dramatist?"

"Wait, what is waiting?" I asked, slightly hesitantly. The feeling of that presence had been spiking since the quake but so far it wasn't quite as bad. One moment it was there, the other it was gone again. I had thought about mentioning it to the Doctor but how do you mention something you couldn't even describe in your head?

Toby shrugged his shoulders "Whatever it is down there, it's not a natural phenomenon. And this, er, planet once supported life aeons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk…"

"I saw that lettering written on the wall," the Doctor questioned curiously "Did you do that?"

"I copied it from fragments we found unearthed by the drilling," Toby nodded "But I can't translate it."

The Doctor hummed "No, neither can I. And that's saying something."

"There was some form of civilisation," Toby explained, excitement colouring his voice for the first time "They buried something. Now it's reaching out, calling us in."

"And you came," the Time Lord remarked.

Ida huffed "Well, how could we not?"

"So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here?" the Doctor frowned "Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was there. Brilliant. Excuse me, er, Zach, wasn't it?"

"That's me," the captain nodded.

The Doctor's face split into a huge grin "Just stand there because I'm going to hug you. Is that alright?"

"I… suppose so?" the man agreed, looking completely flabbergasted.

"Here we go. Come on, then," the Doctor held out his arms, throwing them around Zach. I snorted at him, turning to muffle my laughter in the shoulder of whoever was standing next to me… It turned out to be Jefferson who was watching his captain and the Doctor's interacting with barely hidden amusement "Oh, human beings. You are amazing. Ha! Thank you."

"Not at all," Zach shook his head.

Jefferson looked down "You alright there… I don't remember your name?"

"Tyra," I introduced myself again "Don't worry. And I'm fine. The Doctor occasionally does weird things. It's always amusing to witness."

"Ah," the man nodded "From what I've seen… I'm not surprised."

I shrugged "Yup. That's him. Am I right, Damon?"

"Sure, whatever you say, Ty," the younger vampire agreed without looking up from his quiet conversation with Scooti.

"No biting, Damon," I warned, seeing him laugh at something the younger woman said. The Salvatore waved me off, completely ignoring me. I crossed my arms with a sigh "Why do I even bother?"

"You can talk," Ida exclaimed, looking at the Doctor "And how the hell did you get here?"

The Doctor scratched his head "Oh, I've got this, er, this ship. It's hard to explain. It just sort of appears."

"We can show you," Rose pointed out "We parked down the corridor from… Oh, what is it called? Habitation area…"

"Three," the Time Lord finished.

The blonde nodded "Three."

Zach stared up at them "Do you mean storage six?"

"It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah," the Doctor shrugged before he froze "Storage six. You said… You said storage five to eight." When no one said anything else, the Time Lord ran out with Rose hot on his heels.

I was about to follow them when Damon made a noise at the back of his throat. I stopped, looking from the door the Doctor had disappeared through to my friend "Oh, crap," I mumbled, tugging at the sleeve of Damon's leather jacket "Come here." We sank down on the stairs we had been sitting on earlier with Damon in my arms.

"You know," the younger vampire murmured quietly, ignoring the fact that everyone's eyes were on us "I'm not sure if I should be sad about never seeing Stefan again…"

I snorted "From what you've been telling me about him, I can tell you that you're better off without him. Damon, when hasn't he been nagging at you? He wants to change who you are because he's not happy with it."

Damon hummed "Yeah, I mean, I love him in my own way… But I just feel so – unappreciated when he is constantly on my ass."

"You know that he's wrong, right?" I asked him "I saw you after you got out of that place… Sage loves you like a brother now. Urgh, what I'm trying to say is that you have friends – family who loved you the way you are."

"What about Elena?"

I leaned my head against his shoulder "I might not be too happy about you being after another of those whores but… If that's what you really want and if you think that she can accept you, then I'm happy for you." I paused for a moment, looking up at the others in the room "I've never lied to you about my hatred for the Doppelgängers but for you, I'd at least meet her. You're my family as much as my real siblings were."

Damon pressed a kiss to my forehead "Damn, you're making me cry."

I laughed, shoving him "Asshole."

"Ty, what if we really are stuck here?" the younger vampire questioned.

I shrugged "I don't know. I really don't… But – We can work through it either way."

It took another few minutes of silence between the two of us before Scooti spoke up "Are you guys alright?"

"We're alright, I think," Damon nodded with a small smile to her "I'm sorry, though. That we got stuck here…"

Zach shook his head "Well, it's not your fault… I think. I still have no idea how you actually got here."

"Yeah, don't think about it too much," I advised "Trust me, the headache isn't worth it."

"Since you two are here now," Ida spoke up "Is there any job you would like to do here?"

I looked to Damon "Well, to be honest, I'd love to see what Toby is doing? I always loved history and travelled around a lot, learning whatever I could."

Toby looked up in surprise "Erm, yeah, sure."

"The ground gave way," the Doctor said as soon as he and Rose entered the control room again "My Tardis must have fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way."

Zach raised his eyebrow "We can't divert the drilling."

"But I need my ship," the Doctor argued "It's all I've got. Literally the only thing."

"Doctor," the captain spoke up, sounding sympathetic "We've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source and that's it. No diversions, no distractions, no exceptions. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place and that is the end of it."

Ida shifted "I'll, er, put you on the duty roster. The two of you can work in laundry." She looked at Damon "I'm putting you with Jefferson if that's alright? You seem like you know your way around a weapon."

With that they all left the room but before Toby was out of the door, he turned to me "I'm going to check out the stuff we found. Would you – er – Would you like to see it?"

"Sure." I got up, wrapping my arms around the Time Lord for a moment "It's alright. I know it doesn't seem that way at the moment but we're still alive. That's better than nothing. We'll figure out the rest as time passes."

The Doctor caught my arm "Ty?"

"I don't blame you," I told him quietly, ruffling his hair "I really don't. Damon and I talked about it. You know that I would never blame you." I followed Toby to his quarters in silence.

Toby gestured to his bunk bed "You can sit… If you want."

"Thanks," I smiled "I don't bite, you know."

"Sorry," he winced "Is it that obvious?"

I laughed lightly "It is. Don't worry about it."

Toby let out a breath and relaxed "Here. This is what we have… I can't translate any of it but I'm really hoping for a breakthrough." I got up, looking over his shoulder curiously. On his desk there were a few fragments of a scroll. One of those, he held beneath the magnifying glass, showing me the symbols that were written on it. The feeling of the foreign presence got stronger and it urged me to reach out and touch the pieces but I stopped myself before I could even lift my hand.

Suddenly, the man in front of me straightened up. I frowned at the look on his face "Toby? Are you alright?"

"Can you hear that?" he asked in a hushed tone.

I tilted my head, listening for what he was apparently hearing "There's whispers. Nothing that I can make out though," I told him "Why? What do you hear?"

"Nothing," Toby blinked, shaking his head "It's nothing. Sorry about that. It's been a long day."

I patted his shoulder and went back to sit on his bed, leaning back to look at the ceiling "What do you think is going on here? You said that there was something hiding in the darkness…" The only answer I got was frantic rustling and slight choking "Toby?" I looked at the man in shock. There were symbols covering his face and hands, his eyes having turned a deep shade of red "What are you?" Toby fell to the ground, unconscious. I fell down next to him, shaking his shoulder "Toby? Come on, don't do this to me." His heart was spluttering and I had no idea what was going on. When I got up, to get one of the others, I felt hands on my head and everything went black before I could react.

**Third Person PoV**

The Doctor stared after Tyra when she left the room, surprised at her words. He really couldn't tell why he was surprised in the first place. This was so like Tyra to not blame him for messing everything up. He looked at Damon "I'm really sorry, Damon."

Damon sat down next to the Time Lord and nudged his side "She didn't say that to make you feel better," he started "Ty means it. She doesn't blame you for this and I don't either. What happened isn't your fault."

"But I've trapped you here," the Doctor muttered, his head in his hands.

Rose shook her head at him, annoyed at Tyra's display from earlier "No, don't worry about us." The base shook some more and the blonde swallowed nervously "Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist under a black hole and no way out. Yeah, I changed my mind. Start worrying about me."

"You're not helping," Damon muttered into her ear when he got up "Come on, let's see what the others are up to."

The Time Lord clapped his hands, throwing another look at the black hole that was still showing over their heads "Let's go." He lead the way back to Habitation Three with Damon walking just behind him "Are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't ask before but…"

"Hey, I get it," the vampire shrugged "And I'm fine. Tyra told me some home truths. I – You know, she is my family and I'm closer to her than my own brother. Since she's here… I can get over this. Being stuck here. It's not the worst thing that could have happened."

The Doctor sighed "I feel like she would rip me a new one if she was here right now." That made him think of who she went with "Why did she go with Toby anyway?"

"She loves history," Damon told the Time Lord "I'm sure you've noticed. She is just as interested in this as you are even if she might not get all the technical stuff…"

Rose glared at their backs, trying so hard not to interrupt them. Why was it always Tyra? What made her so amazing? The blonde just didn't understand. The Original was a monster and she even admitted to murdering people. How could the Doctor just ignore that? She had been trying to get Damon to talk to her alone since she talked to Tyra in London. Not that it had worked. It seemed as if the other vampire already knew what she was trying to do and avoided her whenever he could. Whether that was spending time with Tyra or talking to the Doctor. Considering the fact that the Time Lord had glared at the vampire all the time not too long ago, she didn't understand how the two of them were getting along now. It was weird. Normally, the Doctor didn't change his opinion easily and she thought that she didn't like Damon for his attitude towards killing and the fact that Tyra taught him how to screw people over. Nothing of this made any sense to Rose but she kept quiet for now. This wasn't something she wanted the Doctor to know.

As soon as the group of three got to Habitation Three, the Doctor walked over to continue examining the alien script that Toby had painted on the walls. Rose, on the other hand, went to get herself something to eat while Damon went over to talk to Scooti who had her tray already. The younger woman turned to Rose with a grin "Help yourself. Just don't have the green." She went to walk away before stopping "Or the blue."

Rose took her tray to the serving window after blinking at Scooti who had started laughing at something the vampire said to her "Er, bit of that, thanks."

"Would you like sauce with that?" the Ood in the window questioned.

"I'll have a go, yeah," Rose nodded unsurely "I did that once. I was a – a dinner lady. Not that I'm calling you a lady. Although I don't know, you might be. Do you actually get paid, though? Do they give you money?"

The Ood picked up his communicator "The Beast and his Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God."

Rose gaped at the tentacle alien in shock "I'm sorry?"

"Apologies," the Ood inclined his head "I said, I hope you enjoy your meal."

It was a little while later that Damon looked up from his conversation with Scooti. She was easily the cutest girl. From their talks before, he wouldn't mind getting to know her more. It only took him a second to realize that Tyra still wasn't here which worried him a little "You're worried about your friend, aren't you?" Scooti asked him quietly.

Damon nodded lightly "She can take care of herself but… It doesn't mean that I don't still want to protect her."

"Well, she is younger than you, so that's…"

"Oh, actually… Ty is older than she looks," the younger vampire shrugged "She might look like a kid but she really isn't."

Scooti blinked "How old is she?"

Damon rubbed the back of his neck "I don't actually know. She never told me."

"Well, don't worry," the young woman nudged him "Toby loses track of time sometimes. I'm sure they're both fine."

In that moment, Damon was hit with a huge wave of the feeling. It was as if that something had just entered the base and was closer than ever. He let out a low gasp. Scooti was about to open her mouth to ask him whether he was alright when the lights flickered. Ida looked up "Zach? Have we got a problem?"

" _No more than usual,_ " Zach responded immediately " _Got the Scarlet System burning up. Might be worth a look._ "

Ida went over to the lever and turned to the others in the room "You might want to see this. Moment in history." She opened the shutters "There. On the edge. That red cloud. That used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years, disappearing forever. Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."

When she went to shut the shutters again, the Doctor stopped her "Er, no, could you leave it open? Just for a bit." Ida hesitated for a moment "I won't go mad. I promise."

"How would you know?" she raised her eyebrow but took her hand from the lever "Scooti, check the lockdown. Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me."

Damon got up as well, walking through the door with Jefferson. From the look he had gotten from Rose, he really didn't want to be anywhere near the blonde while she throws herself onto the Doctor. Tyra might not admit to it and neither would the Doctor but the two were into each other, no matter what they were telling him. The younger vampire cursed both of them for being stubborn idiots but there was nothing her could do. Tyra was adamant that the Doctor was only her friend and she might feel like this was the full extent of her feelings but Damon knew better. She had always been a bit slow once it came to feelings.

**Tyra PoV**

I groaned when I woke up again, my hand immediately going to my stiff neck. I really hated dying but for some reason I just couldn't stay away from trouble. It took me a moment to remember what had happened and I stiffened. Toby… Toby – or whatever was in him – killed me.

The room I was in was empty except for me. Toby was gone, so I relaxed a little and thought back on what happened. I was a bit confused as to why I didn't hear Toby get up but then I remembered that his heart had practically given out when I got up to get someone "Shit," I cursed under my breath, rubbing at my neck again. I had to find the Doctor and quickly. There was something really wrong here and it scared me a little. Especially since that thing immediately made sure that there were no witnesses. Not that it worked, thankfully.

When I was on my way back to Habitation Three, the base started shaking violently, almost as bad as it was the first time. I stopped for a second when I heard Zach's voice over the intercom " _Everyone, evacuate eleven to thirteen. We've got a breach. The base is open. Repeat, the base is open._ " I started moving faster, taking the turns quickly. I had no idea where eleven to thirteen were, so I was a little hesitant about going back to where I was before.

As soon as I was a bit closer to Habitation Three, I heard footsteps and familiar voices "Everyone alright?" the Doctor called out "What happened? What was it?"

" _Oxygen levels normal,_ " the Computer announced.

Jefferson was the one who answered the Doctor "Hull breach. We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters."

"That wasn't a quake," the Time Lord pointed out "What caused it?"

" _We've lost sections eleven to thirteen,_ " Zach said " _Everyone alright?_ "

"We've got everyone here except for Scooti and… what's her name? Tyra?" Jefferson spoke up.

I walked over to them "I'm here."

The Doctor whirled around, seeing my slightly ruffled appearance and pulled me into his arms "Where have you been?"

I caught Toby's eyes and sneered at him. There was something seriously wrong. I still couldn't hear a heartbeat or breathing coming from the man and that made me hesitate. It didn't help when the symbols slowly bled back onto his skin "I'll tell you later."

"Scooti?" Jefferson called into his wrist device "Scooti, report. Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report."

" _She's alright,_ " Zach assured them " _I've picked up her biochip. She's in Habitation Three. Better go and check if she's not responding. She might be unconscious. How about that, eh? We survived._ "

Jefferson looked down the corridor "Habitation Three. Come on. I don't often say this but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on."

"What happened?" the Doctor asked Toby, kneeling down in front of him.

Toby shook his head shakily "I don't… I don't know. I was working and then I can't remember. All that noise. The room was falling apart. There was no air…"

Damon wrapped his arm around my shoulders when he saw me staring at Toby "Come on. Let's get you a drink. You look like you need it."

Ida was already in Habitation Three when we entered and she turned to us "I've checked Habitation Four. Can you hear me?"

"There's no sign of her," the Head of Security murmured "The biochip says she's in the area. Have any of you seen Scooti?"

Toby shook his head "No, no, no, I don't think so." I watched him from the other end of the room, trying to see whether he was back to normal despite the fact that he was technically dead. If I hadn't known what happened back in his quarters, I wouldn't have seen the glint in his eyes. He – It had something to do with it.

"Nowhere here," Jefferson sighed "Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing."

" _It says Habitation Three,_ " Zach told us, sounding puzzled.

Jefferson rolled his eyes "Yeah, well, that's where I am and I'm telling you she's not here."

"I've found her," the Doctor spoke up quietly, staring at the ceiling with sorrow in his eyes. I turned away from Toby and looked through the open shutter to see Scooti drifting towards the black hole. She was completely blue from the lack of oxygen, her hair flying around her head like a halo.

"Oh, my God," Rose breathed, her hand coming up to her mouth.

I felt a hand grab mine tightly and looked up at Damon who was looking up with tears in his eyes "You liked her didn't you?"

The younger vampire shook his head "She was cute… Why does this always happen?"

"Hey, this isn't your fault, Damon," I told him gently but firmly "You couldn't have done anything. I'm really sorry… But I have to talk to the Doctor about something." With that, I squeezed his hand in comfort and walked over to the Time Lord, hoping to tell him about Toby before things got worse.

The Doctor looked down when I stopped next to him and frowned at my uncomfortable expression "What's wrong?"

"I have to talk to you about something," I whispered in a hushed tone while Ida and Jefferson were talking to Zach "It's about earlier."

"Tell me," the Time Lord nodded after pulling me to the side a little.

I licked my lips uncomfortably "Toby is dead," I started "I don't know what's going on but that guy over there isn't Toby anymore. It was freaky. He was studying the fragment pieces he found and then it was like he was possessed. His whole skin was covered in the same symbols as on the wall and his eyes were red."

"But he's back to normal now," the Doctor pointed out "At least he seems normal."

I shook my head "His heart isn't beating and he's not breathing. That's not all," I sighed, tugging at my hair "Ever since we stepped out of the Tardis, Damon and I got this feeling. I don't know what it is but it got worse after what happened with Toby. It's – I can't describe it. Like a sledgehammer to some extent. It feels old. I…"

"Okay," the Time Lord breathed out, his hand rubbing over his head, making his hair stand up in every direction. It was in that moment, that the base fell silent "Okay… Keep an eye on him and tell Damon to do the same. We don't technically know whether he's still Toby or not."

I nodded "Will do."

"What was that?" Rose tilted her head "What was it?"

"The drill," the Doctor spoke up, turning back towards the others in the room.

Ida let out a shaky breath "We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero."

As soon as we got to the drilling area, Ida got ready to go down. When I saw that the Doctor was putting on a suit as well, I walked over "You're not going alone."

"Ty, it could be dangerous," the Doctor spoke up, trying to talk me out of it.

I raised an eyebrow "Who is the almost immortal here?" I asked "Look, Damon will stay up here with the others and I'm gonna talk to him about keeping an eye on Toby…" Before I could continue, I saw Rose approaching the other vampire and winced at Damon's look "One of us with each group. I'm not letting you or Ida die if I can help it."

The Doctor sighed "I won't be able to talk you out of this, will I?"

"Nope," I shook my head, grabbing another suit off the hooks. There were only three, so I wasn't sure who should have gone down originally but I'd be damned if I let anyone else die without at least trying to stop it. As I was changing, I kept an ear on Rose and Damon, trying not to cringe at the blonde. She would never give up, would she?

**Third Person PoV**

Damon was leaning against the wall in the drilling area, trying not to blame himself for Scooti's death. He knew that Tyra had been right and that he probably couldn't have done anything even if he had been with her at the time… It didn't mean that he didn't feel bad. The woman had been so young…

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" Rose asked, smiling up at Damon.

The younger vampire barely withheld a groan "Sure. What's up?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you," the blonde batted her eyelashes a little "Since you're… you know, I was wondering whether you could – Maybe turn me?"

Damon snorted "You're joking, right? Weren't you the one who told me that Tyra and I were monsters?"

"Yeah, well… You are," Rose sniffed.

"And you think that becoming a vampire makes you a monster," the younger vampire continued "Yet, you want to be one? Why?"

The blonde couldn't stop her eyes from straying to the Doctor "Does it matter? Why won't you just turn me?"

"Because I know Tyra," Damon pointed out, his voice getting lower and more pissed "I know that she said no. She told me why you want to become a vampire. I'm not going to turn you, blondie."

Rose reached out to put her hand on Damon's chest "Why not? Don't you think…"

He grabbed her wrist tightly "Let me stop you there. I'm not interested in you. Tyra won't turn you and neither will I."

"Why is she always acting like she is the best?" Rose grumbled under her breath, completely forgetting that Damon wasn't the only vampire. Maybe she would have been more careful if she knew that Tyra was listening to every word they were saying "I really don't understand why people are so protective over her. She's a bitch."

Damon smirked "Well, so are you. And Tyra is a hundred times the person you are. She, at least, is genuine. Honestly, I have no idea why she hasn't killed or compelled you yet but I'll honour her wishes." He looked down at the blonde, her wrist still in his hand "You're not going to be a vampire. Just… No."

**Tyra PoV**

"Are you ready?" the Time Lord asked, looking over at me.

I saw Rose walking over to where we were and then glanced at Damon "Yeah. I'll be there in a minute. Just need a word with Damon."

"Sure," the Time Lord nodded before he noticed Rose when I walked past him.

Damon had his fists clenched when I stopped next to him "You okay?" I asked.

"Knowing and experiencing her is something really different. I know you listened to every word of it… How do you deal with her?" the younger vampire demanded.

I shrugged "I honestly don't care anymore. She's been looking down on me ever since I revealed that I was a vampire. She just got worse after we met one of the Doc's old Companions."

"Does she really think she would be a vampire and live on her normal life?" Damon questioned.

"Apparently," I huffed "Rose actually told me that if I could handle the bloodlust she would have no problem with it at all." I shook my head "This wasn't what I wanted to talk to you though. You're staying up here with them and I want you to know something…" With those words, I lowered my voice "Keep an eye on Toby. There's something seriously wrong with him."

Damon's eyes strayed to the man who was sitting on the ground not too far away "You didn't have to tell me. He's a dead man walking."

"Yeah," I sighed "Good… I just thought I'd tell you because I wasn't sure whether you noticed after…"

"Oh, I noticed alright," the younger vampire smiled before nodding towards the Doctor "I think he might need rescuing."

I turned in confusion and snorted when I saw the Doctor's pleading look while he was trying to pry Rose off him "Do you think I should help? This is slightly amusing."

"Don't be mean," Damon grinned, nudging my side "Go and help the poor guy."

"Fine, fine," I grumbled, walking over to the Time Lord "I think they're ready to go down."

The Doctor slumped in silent relief when Rose let go of him and handed me a helmet before going over to Zach "Reporting as volunteers for the expeditionary force."

Zach looked at the Doctor and then to me "Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are."

"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you?" the Time Lord questioned with a knowing smile "And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on. Look me in the eye. Yes, you do. I can see it. Trust."

I looked up at him with a furrowed brow "Are you trying to sound like a serial killer? Cause that was the vibe I got…"

"Tyra," the Doctor groaned.

Zach looked at me with amusement before he turned serious "I can't let you go down. I should b e the one to go…"

"You're the captain, Zach," I pointed out "They need you here. In charge. I'll make sure that Ida gets out of this alive. Even if I have to die for her. Not like that is the first time…" He blinked at me and opened his mouth "Maybe you'll find out. But seriously. Damon and I will do our best to protect everyone. I give you my word on that." Those words made me shiver. How the hell did I sound so much like Elijah just then? I swear, he was a bad influence with his promises and words…

"Not much good at it, am I?" Zach sighed, dropping his head "Positions. We're going down in two. Everyone, positions. Mister Jefferson. I want maximum system enhancement."

The Doctor checked his suit and then looked over mine, pointing out the different displays "Oxygen, nitro balance, gravity. Oh, it's been ages since I wore one of these."

Before I put on my helmet, Damon pressed a kiss to my head "Be careful down there."

"I will… Look after them," I told him before securing the helmet, joining the Doctor and Ida in the capsule.

" _Five, four, three, two, one,_ " Zach counted down over the Comms " _Release._ " The capsule lowered down on its cable and I leaned my head back, closing my eyes. It was a weird feeling to be wearing the spacesuit especially since I never wore one of those before " _You've gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own._ " The three inside the capsule turned on our life support, me with a little help from the other two since I had no idea how the suit worked.

" _Don't forget to breathe,_ " Rose pointed out over the Comms " _Breathing's good._ "

Zach made a noise that was a mix between annoyance and amusement " _Rose, stay off the Comms._ "

" _No chance,_ " the blonde laughed.

When the capsule shuddered even more and dropped, I stumbled and crashed into the Doctor.

" _Doctor?_ " Rose called out urgently, her hand clenching around the microphone in her hand " _Doctor, are you alright?"_

" _Ida, report to me. Doctor? Tyra?_ " Zach asked immediately after the blonde was done.

The Doctor steadied me gently before speaking up "It's alright. We've made it. Getting out of the capsule now."

" _What's it like down there?_ " Damon asked, having most likely grabbed the Comms unit from Rose.

"It's hard to tell," the Time Lord murmured, looking around the near darkness "Some sort of cave… Cavern… It's massive."

Ida pulled something out of the capsule "Well, this should help. Gravity glove." She threw up the ball that illuminated the cavern and gasped "That's – That's… My God, that's beautiful."

"Eh," I shrugged with a teasing grin in her direction "I've seen better _._ " She looked at me before rolling her eyes, a smile playing on her face.

"Rose, you can tell Toby that we've found his civilisation," the Doctor said, looking at the wall of the caverns where pillars and statues were carved into the stone.

I jogged over to one of them, standing in the archway and looked up "I feel tiny…"

"You are tiny," the Doctor pointed out "Now you're just… Tinier."

"I hate you," I huffed with a playful pout.

" _Concentrate now, people,_ " Zach sighed, slightly exasperated " _Keep on the mission. Ida, what about the power source._ "

The woman looked at the device in her hand "We're close. Energy signature indicates north-north-west. Are you getting pictures up there?"

" _There's too much interference. We're in your hands,_ " Zach denied.

Ida closed her eyes "Well, we've come this far… There's no turning back."

"Oh, did you have to?" the Doctor groaned, catching up to us "No turning back? That's almost as bad as this is going to be the best Christmas Walford's ever had…"

"Or nothing can possibly go wrong," I chimed in.

Ida raised her eyebrow "You two done?"

"Not even close," I smirked "But do go on."

"Thank you," the older woman scoffed.

**Third Person PoV**

" _Captain, sir,_ " Danny spoke up, his voice higher than normal as he was staring at the Ood in front of him " _There's something happening with the Ood._ "

Zach groaned. Nothing could possibly go wrong, indeed… " _What are they doing?_ "

" _They're staring at me,_ " Danny said " _I've told them to stop but they won't…_ "

" _Danny, you're a big boy,_ " the captain mocked lightly " _I think you can take being stared at._ "

Danny grumbled " _But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred. I've checked, there isn't any fault. It's definitely one hundred._ "

Zach froze at the monitor and shook his head " _But that's impossible._ "

In the drilling area, Rose turned to the others "What's basic one hundred mean?"

" _They should be dead,_ " Danny replied.

Jefferson looked at the Ood around him warily "Basic one hundred is brain death."

" _But they're safe?_ " Zach questioned urgently " _They're not actually moving?_ "

Danny looked at the Ood in the hold " _No, sir._ "

Zach nodded to himself in the control room " _Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson?_ _Keep a guard on the Ood._ "

"Officer at arms," Jefferson commanded, pointing to the guards.

The crewman saluted "Yes, sir. _"_

Rose stared at them as if they were crazy "You can't fire a gun in here. What if you hit a wall?"

"I'm firing stock fifteen," Jefferson explained with a roll of his eyes "It only impacts upon organics. Keep watch. Guard them." There were at least three Ood that Damon could see but it was a possibility that there were more. He turned his attention from the Comms to the Ood and the walking dead at his feet. Making Blondie's life hell would have to wait for a while.

**Tyra PoV**

We had been exploring the cavern while keeping an eye on what was happening above us. There wasn't a lot that was directed at us, so the only thing we really got was that something was wrong with the Ood.

"Is everything alright up there?" the Doctor asked, narrowing his eyes in worry.

Rose answered immediately " _Yeah, yeah._ "

" _It's fine,_ " Zach added.

" _Great,_ " Danny agreed sarcastically.

The Doctor, Ida and I have walked through the archway between two massive pillars into an area with tons of rubble and a huge round decorated door in the floor "We've found something," the Doctor remarked "It looks like metal. Some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be trapdoor. Not a good word, trapdoor. Never met a trapdoor I liked."

"There are few good trapdoors," I agreed "Although the one that Jack found in…"

"Ooh, yeah," the Time Lord nodded "I forgot about that one. Yeah, that was definitely a good one."

Ida shook her head at us getting distracted again and stepped closer to the metal trapdoor thingy "The edge is covered with those symbols," she reported.

" _Do you think it opens?_ " Zach questioned.

The Doctor hummed "That's what trapdoors tend to do."

"Trapdoor doesn't cover it," Ida pointed out "It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter."

" _Any way of opening it?_ " the captain inquired.

We looked around the rubble, not really seeing anything helpful "I don't know," Ida shrugged "I can't see any sort of mechanism."

"I suppose that's the writing," the Doctor mused "It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation."

I grimaced "If it's the letters that will tell us, I really don't want to know. They're giving me the creeps."

Zach's voice sounded again, speaking words I really didn't want to hear because I had a vague idea of how this would end _"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?_ "

**Third Person PoV**

Rose turned to the man on the floor at Damon's feet. The vampire had stiffened more when he felt the presence wash over him, stronger than ever "Toby, they need to know that lettering. Does it make any sort of sense?"

"I know what it says," Toby admitted.

"Then tell them," the blonde urged.

Jefferson narrowed his eyes on the man in suspicion "When did you work that out?"

Rose threw the Head of Security an annoyed look "It doesn't matter, just tell them."

Damon grabbed the blonde practically throwing her away from Toby when he looked up, covered in symbols with red eyes "These are the words of the Beast. And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise."

"Officer, stand down," Jefferson ordered, his gun on Toby "Stand down."

" _So it was the Beast who we felt,"_ Tyra mused over the Comms " _Damon…_ "

The younger vampire shot the speaker an annoyed look "Yes, yes. I know."

" _What is it?_ " the Doctor questioned " _What's he done? What's happening?_ "

Zach was clutching the edge of the controls tightly " _Jefferson? Report. Report._ "

The Head of Security stared at his colleague with wide eyes. This was something you didn't see every day. One glance at the raven-haired man close to him revealed that he wasn't surprised. Before Jefferson could really question that, he shook his head. It wasn't important right now… "Officer, as Commander of Security, I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately."

"He's come out in those symbols," Rose spoke into the Comms "All over his face. They're all over him."

Toby grinned up at Jefferson "Mister Jefferson. Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?"

The man in question froze "I don't know what you mean."

"Let me tell you a secret," the Beast taunted "She never did."

Damon looked from Jefferson to the thing "Oh, can you just shut up? It's getting annoying."

The Beast tilted his head "What are you going to do?"

"Under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorised to shoot you," Jefferson stated, tightening his grip on the gun.

"But how many can you kill?" Toby opened his mouth, causing the symbols to leave him and float over to the Ood who jerked to attention.

" _We are the Legion of the Beast,_ " every Ood chorused, causing everyone inside the base to shiver. This was bad. Very, very bad.

" _Rose? Damon? What is it, Damon? I'm going back up,_ " the Doctor called, storming back to the capsule with Tyra and Ida hot on his heels.

Zach was on the edge of his seat " _Report. Report! Jefferson, report. Someone, report._ "

" _The Legion shall be many and the Legion shall be few,_ " the Ood announced.

Rose swallowed "It's the Ood," she spoke into the microphone.

"Sir, we have contamination in the livestock," Jefferson added.

"Doctor, I don't know what it is," the blonde sniffed "It's like they're possessed.

Damon snatched the microphone out of her hands "Ty… It was red eyes, right? The symbols and red eyes?"

" _Erm, yes,_ " the Original nodded in agreement, avoiding Ida's curious look.

" _What are you two talking about?_ " Zach demanded.

Before someone could answer, the Ood spoke again " _He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time. Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan or Lucifer._ "

Danny stared at the twenty or more Ood underneath him with fear and panic " _Captain, it's the Ood. They're out of control._ "

" _Or the Bringer of Despair,_ " they continued " _The Deathless Prince, the Bringer of the Night._ " One Ood walked up the steps to the catwalk, releasing its globe. It flew towards one of the guards just behind Danny, electrocuting him " _There are the words that shall set him free._ "

Jefferson stepped backwards, herding the others to the door while keeping his gun on the Ood "Back up to the door."

" _I shall become manifest,_ " the Ood said " _I shall walk in might. My Legions shall swarm across the worlds._ "

Damon looked from the Ood to the humans that were under his protection and back. He squeezed his eyes shut before darting forward, knocking out as many Ood as he could before anyone could blink. In under a second, all the Ood in the room were on the ground, not moving an inch "Let's get out of here."

"How?" Jefferson breathed.

"Does it matter?" the vampire snapped in annoyance, ignoring Rose's incredulous gaze "We have to go."

**Tyra PoV**

I whirled around when I heard metal grinding on metal and started running back to the room where the trapdoor was "This is bad," I breathed. The centre of the trapdoor sunk down as the ground shook violently.

"Doctor," Ida called from behind me "It's opening…"

" _We're moving,_ " Zach shouted into the Comms " _The whole thing's moving. The planet's moving._ "

The Doctor ran up to Ida and me before pulling us away from the metal a little, just watching silently as the trapdoor opened segment by segment. Once it was open completely, there was only a deep shaft left. I exhaled, stepping forward a little to look down into the never-ending darkness "I stand corrected. This is worse."

" _The gravity field,_ " Zach breathed, fear lacing his voice " _It's going. We're losing orbit. We're going to fall into the black hole._ "

From the darkness, a voice reached out to all of us "The Pit is open. And I am free. Bwahahahahaha."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onto slightly less serious business. I lost a bet. A few friends and I were betting whether this chapter would be the longest so far and… Well, I lost. They all said yes and I was the only one who said that it wouldn't be longer.
> 
> Thankfully, we didn't really bet anything, so I thought this was the least painful punishment xD
> 
> Nick


	12. The Satan Pit

**Third Person PoV**

"Doctor?" Rose shouted into the Comm "Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, Tyra, are you there?"

" _Open door 25._ "

Jefferson and the guard prepared to shoot the person coming inside. Danny stumbled through the door, freezing when he saw the guns "It's me," he panted "But they're coming. It's the Ood. They've gone mad."

"How many of them?" Jefferson demanded.

Danny shook his head "All of them. All fifty…" His gaze fell on the unconscious Ood on the ground "What happened to them?"

"Can you take care of the others as well?" the Head of Security asked Damon.

The vampire shrugged "If that's what you want. They are rather easy to subdue…"

"Wait," Danny blinked "That was you? How?"

"Okay," Damon murmured, running a hand through his hair "I won't tell you. But the reason why Tyra and I split up… This is it. She will make sure that the others stay alive."

Jefferson shot forward, snatching Danny's arm to drag him away from the door "Out of the way."

"But they're armed," Danny pointed out "It's the interface device. I don't know how but they're using it as a weapon."

" _Open door 25._ "

Jefferson prodded the door open and stepped out of the way as soon as the Ood came into view. The leading Ood was about to reach out with it's globe when Damon shot forward again, felling the Ood left and right. It was more work to keep them alive but who was he to argue with the actual crew? While being here with Tyra and the Doctor, Damon felt like he could really be himself, be the person he had been as a human. Not the asshole who wanted to make his brother's life hell. Stefan deserved it but it was tiring, always pretending to be someone he wasn't. Another reason why he loved being around Tyra was that she didn't pressure him. Elena and Stefan wanted to change him and he hated that. He was who he wanted to be. They had no right to boss him around.

" _Jefferson, what's happening there?"_ Zach shouted over the intercom.

The Head of Security shook his head "The Ood are unconscious, sir. How about you?"

" _All I've got is a bolt gun… With all of, er, all of one bolt,"_ Zach sighed " _I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is._ "

"Given the emergency, I recommend strategy nine," Jefferson said.

" _Strategy nine… Agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Rose? What about Ida, Tyra and the Doctor? Any word?_ "

"I can't get a reply," the blonde admitted with tears in her eyes "Just nothing. I keep trying but it's…"

" _No, sorry,_ " the Doctor's voice came through with lots of static breaking it up " _I'm fine. Still here._ "

Rose's face turned red "You could've said," she hissed "You stupid…"

**Tyra PoV**

I stumbled at the feedback coming through the Comms and would have gotten closer to the chasm, had Ida not reached out to steady me. The Doctor winced at the pain "Whoa. Careful… Anyway, it's the three of us. Hello. But the seal opened up. It's gone." He stepped a little closer and peered into the darkness "All we've got left is this chasm."

" _How deep is it?_ " Zach questioned curiously.

"Can't tell," the Time Lord admitted "It looks like it goes down forever."

Rose's voice turned shaky " _The pit is open._ _That's what the voice said._ "

" _But there's nothing. I mean, there's nothing coming out?_ " Zach asked.

The Doctor hummed "No, no. No sign of the Beast."

" _It said Satan,_ " Rose breathed.

" _Oh, keep it together,_ " Damon rolled his eyes.

Rose huffed " _Is there no such thing? Doctor… Doctor, tell me there's no such thing._ "

I exchanged a look with the Time Lord and shrugged "Damon?"

" _Tyra?_ "

"What happened up there?" I asked him.

The younger vampire snorted "The Ood are taking a nap right now. We're all fine though. Nothing's changed. Still nothing." The last bit was more than worrying. Toby was still technically dead. This shouldn't have been possible but if he was possessed then it had to be, right? Oh, I wish that Nik was here… He knows more about possession than me. It was one of his favourite tricks after all.

" _Ida?_ " Zach called " _I recommend that you withdraw immediately._ "

"But we've come all this way," the woman argued.

Zach groaned " _Okay. That was an order. Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now._ "

"It's not much better up there with the Ood," Ida pointed out.

" _I'm initiating strategy nine, so I need the three of you back up top immediately. No ar…"_

Ida turned off the Comms and turned to us "What do you think?"

The Doctor licked his lips "I think they have an order."

"Yeah," Ida nodded "But what do you think?"

"It said, I'm the temptation," the Time Lord murmured, lifting his foot to stand on the edge of the Pit.

The older woman looked at him "Well, if there's something in there, why is it still hiding?"

"Maybe we opened the prison but not the cell," the Doctor shrugged.

I raised an eyebrow, thinking about Toby "Or we opened the cell but not in the way we think."

"We should go down," Ida nodded "I'd go. What about you?"

The Doctor clenched his teeth in annoyance. Not at Ida but at the situation "Oh. Oh, in a second but then again, that is so human. Where angels fear to tread. Even now, standing on the edge. It's that feeling you get, eh? Right at the back of your head. That impulse. That strange little impulse. That mad little voice saying, go on. Go on. Go on. Go over. Go on. Maybe it's relying on that." He stepped back with a sigh, holding his hand out for me "For once in my life, Officer Scott, I'm going to say retreat. Oh, now I know I'm getting old."

"If you're old then what am I? A fossil?" I tilted my head up.

"Beautiful," the Doctor breathed under his breath before he turned the Comms back on "Rose, we're coming back." I blinked at him in surprise, trying to keep down the slight redness that was threatening to creep into my cheeks.

" _Best news I've heard all day,_ " she laughed.

The Doctor pulled me along, while I stared at the Pit with my head tilted in confusion. The feeling had almost stopped now… Now that we were away from Toby "What's strategy nine?"

Ida shrugged "Open the airlocks. We'll be safe inside the lock down. The Ood will get thrown out into the vacuum."

"So we're going back to a slaughter?" the Doctor narrowed his eyes, hand tightening around mine "Tyra…"

I looked over my shoulder at him and blinked "Sorry," I mumbled, stepping into the capsule with the other two.

"Okay, we're in. Bring us up," Ida spoke up.

" _Ascension in three,_ " Jefferson counted down" _Two, one…"_ As soon as he reached one, the power went out.

**Third Person PoV**

"This is the darkness," the voice of the Beast boomed "This is my domain. You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the…"

Zach gasped " _That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them._ "

"Only the darkness remains."

" _This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself,_ " Zach hissed.

"You know my name," the Ood chorused as the voice of the Beast.

Zach's eyes shifted to the image on his screen " _What do you want?_ "

"You will die here," the Beast announced "All of you. This planet is your grave."

Toby shivered "It's him, it's him, it's him."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes " _If you are the Beast, then answer me this. Which one, hmm? Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?_ "

"All of them."

" _What, then you're the truth behind the myth?_ " the Doctor shot back, his voice betraying his doubt.

The Beast scoffed "This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind."

" _How did you end up on this rock?_ " the Time Lord demanded, his hand finding Tyra's again. The Original looked up at the expression on his face and stepped closer to him, giving him as much silent support as she could.

"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the Pit for all eternity," the Beast explained.

The Doctor rolled his eyes " _When was this?_ "

"Before time," the voice grunted.

" _What does before time mean?_ " the Doctor shouted.

The Beast sighed "Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."

" _That's impossible,_ " the Time Lord shook his head " _No life you have existed back then._ "

"Is that your religion?"

The Doctor breathed out " _It's a belief._ "

"You know nothing," the voice snapped "All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command." Zach shuddered at the words "The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife." Jefferson glared at the wall angrily "The scientist, still running from Daddy." Ida closed her eyes in pain "The little boy who lied." Danny shifted "The virgin." Toby barely reacted at the words, causing Damon to narrow his eyes at him "The broken man, hiding away from the world." The younger vampire raised his eyebrow in amusement "The warrior who is running so far from the people who hurt her." Tyra leaned her head against the Doctor's shoulder, the helmet stopping them from being closer "And the lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon."

Rose swallowed in fear "Doctor, what does that mean?"

" _Rose, don't listen,_ " the Time Lord shook his head.

"What does it mean?" the blonde demanded, her voice shaking.

"You will die," the Beast announced "And I will live." The image of the Ood was replaced by a roaring horned beast.

Danny reared back "What the hell was that?"

"I had that thing inside my head," Toby pointed out.

"Doctor, what did it mean?" Rose called out.

"What do we do?" Danny asked "Jefferson?"

The Head of Security took a deep breath "Captain? What's the situation on strategy nine?"

"Zach, what do we do?" Danny questioned.

Toby stared at the far wall, oblivious to Damon's gaze. The younger of the two vampires had to admit that he was somewhat impressed by that thing's acting skills "The planet, the orbit, the black hole. Everything's true."

"Captain, report," Jefferson demanded.

" _We've lost pictures, Mister Jefferson,_ " Zach reported.

Rose licked her lips "Doctor, how did it know all of…"

" _Did anyone get any…_ " Ida started at the same time.

"Jefferson," Zach spoke up.

The Doctor raised a hand to his head in exasperation at all the voices who were overlapping " _Stop._ "

"What did it mean?" Rose demanded.

" _Everyone just stop,_ " the Time Lord shouted. When they still threw demands all over each other, the Doctor reached down to turn Tyra's Comms off for a moment to send loud feedback through to shut them up. With another press of the button, Tyra could hear the silence that replaced the mass of voices " _You want voices in the dark then listen to mine. That thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff._ "

"But that's how the devil works," Danny pointed out hysterically.

The Doctor rolled his eyes " _Or a good psychologist._ "

" _Yeah,_ " Ida nodded unconvinced " _But how did it know about my father?_ "

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment "Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm? Cos I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket right into the orbit of a black hole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing, all of you. The Captain, his Officer, his elders, his junior, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him."

A bang shook the capsule and Ida gasped "The cable's snapped."

"Get out," the Doctor shouted as Tyra shoved him out behind Ida before falling to the ground next to them. The three got out of the capsule as the miles of steel cable arrived at speed.

**Tyra PoV**

"The Comms are down," Ida mumbled, getting up carefully.

The Doctor grabbed my outstretched hand, getting to his feet "How much air have we got?"

"Sixty minutes," the older woman checked "Fifty-five." She looked at the capsule and the cable "Well, we've got all this cable, we might as well use it. The drum's disconnected. We could adapt it, feed it through."

The Time Lord crossed his arms "And then what?"

Ida shrugged "Abseil into the Pit."

"Abseil," the Doctor nodded "Right."

"We're running out of air with no way back," Ida pointed out "It's the only thing we can do. Even if it's the last thing we ever achieve."

The Doctor wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his side "We've got to get back. Our friends are up there."

"Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what's in the Pit."

"Well, it's half of a good plan," the Time Lord sighed.

Ida looked at him "What's the other half?"

"I go down," the Doctor murmured "Not you."

I freed myself from his grip "I can check how deep it is, Doctor."

"How?" Ida frowned.

"Jump," I shrugged.

The older woman gaped "You'll die."

"Not permanently," I grinned "That's why Damon and I split up. We're surprisingly hard to kill without the right weapons."

Ida tilted her head "What does that mean?"

The Doctor sighed "It's nothing. Just accept that she will survive the jump." With that, he turned to me "Are you absolutely sure? I mean, the jump could be miles…"

"Do I have a choice?" I smiled slightly "I don't want you to get hurt. I'll go."

**Third Person PoV**

"Open junctions five, six, seven," Jefferson called out "Reroute filters sixteen to twenty-four. Go. The Ood are waking up again."

Danny peaked over his shoulders "There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board."

"Well, that's handy," Rose muttered sarcastically "Listing all the things we haven't got. We haven't got a swimming pool either. Or a Tesco's."

Danny laughed, looking at the affirmative on the screen "Oh, my God. It says yes. I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm."

"So… Would you kill them?" Damon tilted his head "Cause I can do that. You only have to say the word."

"No, no," Danny shook his head "Not kill them, just… get them back on track. Get rid of the influence on their minds."

"There we are, them," Rose grinned "Do it."

Danny shifted "No, but I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."

Jefferson stepped forward "There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here." He looked at Damon "No need to risk you anymore if we can just avoid the Ood completely."

" _I can manipulate the oxygen field from here,_ " Zach piped up " _Crete discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network._ "

Rose grimaced "So we go down and you make the air follow us by hand?"

" _You wanted me pressing buttons,_ " Zach shrugged, slightly annoyed by the blonde. He didn't mind her so much but she was a little too… much for him.

"Yeah, I asked for it," the blonde muttered "Okay, we need to get to Ood Habitation."

Damon glared at her lightly "Who died and made you king?"

"Shut up, Damon. No one asked you," Rose snapped.

"I'm not the one talking down on my friend. That's all on you, Blondie," the vampire pointed out with a dangerous smirk on his face.

Zach listened to them for another moment before he clinked back into the Comms " _Enough. We have enough problems without the two of you being at each other's throats_."

The group worked on getting a piece of deck plating up, while Danny hurriedly worked on the computer. Jefferson pulled on the man's shirt "Dan, we got to go now. Come on."

"Yeah," Danny nodded, grabbing an orange computer chip from the machine "Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood."

Jefferson gestured to the others "Okay. Danny, you go first, then you, Miss Tyler, then Toby. Damon and I'll go last in defensive position. Now, come on, quick as you can."

At the first shutter, Rose wrinkled her nose "God, it stinks. You alright?"

"Yeah," Danny mocked "I'm laughing. Which way do we go?"

" _Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so,_ " Zach explained. Jefferson shut the entrance behind him as the Ood started to get up. He exchanged a look with Damon and nodded in acknowledgement at the vampire's look.

Rose looked forward as she crawled through the tunnels "Not your best angle, Danny."

"Oi, stop it," the man huffed in annoyance.

"I don't know," Toby shrugged "It could be worse."

Zach checked his monitors " _Straight on until you find junction seven point one. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you._ "

"We're at seven point one, sir," Danny announced, leaning against one of the shutters.

" _Okay, I've got you,_ " Zach soothed " _I'm just aerating the next section._ "

Danny shifted, his eyes darting around the small tunnel nervously "Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"

" _I'm working on half power, here,_ " Zach snapped.

"Stop complaining," Jefferson groaned, settling himself against the wall of the tunnel.

Rose turned to Danny "Mister Jefferson says to stop complaining."

"I heard," Danny rolled his eyes.

"But the air's getting a bit thin," Toby complained.

The blonde leaned her head back "He's complaining now."

"Rose, do all of us a favour and shut the hell up," Damon hissed, his pupils dilating as he accidentally compelled her on purpose.

Zach blinked at the sudden silence " _I'm just moving the air. I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse._ "

There was a bang somewhere behind them that caused Danny to jump in fright "What was that?"

"The Ood," Damon murmured, tilting his head "It sounds like they are coming towards us."

" _He's right,_ " Zach said " _The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. They're in the tunnels._ "

Danny shivered "Well, open the gate."

" _I've got to get the air in,_ " Zach soothed.

"Just open it, sir," Danny panicked.

Damon kept his eyes on the tunnel behind them "They're getting closer. Maybe three corridors away at most."

The gate behind Danny slid up as they hurried through " _Danny, turn left. Immediate left._ "

"The Ood, sir," Jefferson panted lightly "Can't you trap them? Cut off the air?"

" _Not without cutting off yours,"_ Zach told them " _Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up._ "

Jefferson looked at the others "I'll maintain defensive position."

"You can't," Rose shook her head.

Damon looked at the older man "I'll stay too. I can get you out fast."

"You heard what they said," Toby rolled his eyes "Now shift." The Head of Security braced himself on the sides of the tunnel and starts firing as Ood come around the corner.

"Eight point two," Danny practically shouted "Open eight point two. Zach, open eight point two."

While the rest of the group was ready to move on, Damon tapped Jefferson's shoulder "You go on. Stop shooting for a moment. I think I can take them."

"Are you sure?" the older man questioned.

Damon shrugged "I think I can." Jefferson looked at him for a moment before he nodded, crawling after the others. Damon closed his eyes for a moment before using his vampire speed to move forward, killing one Ood after the other. One of them threw its globe at him, causing the vampire to grimace in pain. The electricity didn't kill him but it did hurt a bit. A shoot rang through the air and Damon dropped to the ground, panting. He turned his head in surprise and saw Jefferson crouching by the corner "I thought I told you to go."

"Don't thank me then," Jefferson called back "We have to hurry. Zach is closing eight point one. We have to get past the junction…"

Damon nodded, finishing off the last of the Ood and crawled towards the older man and together they hurried over to the gate just as it started lowering "Shit," Damon cursed and threw himself forward. He reached out to drag Jefferson through, accidentally banging the man's head against the wall, making him go limp "Well… At least he's alive…"

" _Jefferson, are you through?_ " Zach called.

"We made it… Jefferson is out. I had to drag him through. Sorry," the vampire shrugged apologetically "The Ood are dead."

Zach sighed in relief " _That's good. Okay, Damon? Turn left. The others are out of the tunnels already_ _and on their way to Ood Habitation_ _,_ _so it's just the two of you in the tunnels right now._ "

Damon nodded "Got it. Shouldn't be long."

Up in the corridors, the rest of the group was moving forward quickly "There are more Ood here, _"_ Danny shouted as soon as they approached Ood Habitation "They're coming. We have to…"

"Transmit," Rose called out, keeping an eye on the Ood. This would have been so easy to solve had Tyra just given in and turned her. She could have saved them all and this would be over…

Danny made a noise at the back of his throat "I'm trying, I'm trying. I'm getting at it." He searched through his pockets for the computer chip as the Ood came up the stairs.

"Danny, get that thing transmitting." He did and the reading went from basic one hundred to zero. All the Ood grabbed their heads and writhe for a few seconds before collapsing.

"Zach, we did it," Danny reported "The Ood are down. Now we've got to get the others."

" _I'm on my way,_ " Zach nodded " _Damon, what's your status?_ "

Damon hauled Jefferson out of the tunnels and picked him up easily " _Jefferson's still out but we're in a corridor. Near door… 32._ "

Zach frowned before nodding to himself " _I'm coming to get you._ "

**Tyra PoV**

I looked up in confusion when I heard something falling and quickly leapt back when a body crashed to the ground in front of me "Doctor," I gasped, falling to my knees next to the unconscious Time Lord. His helmet had broken the same way mine had which would suggest that his Comms cut out as well. Whether that was due to the helmet breaking or the… company, I wasn't sure. Not that I necessarily wanted to know either "Come on, wake up… I don't wanna be alone with that thing for longer than necessary…"

It took a little longer until the Doctor moved "I'm breathing…" He looked around before noticing me "Tyra. You're okay."

"I'm alright," I smiled, patting his back when he pulled me into his arms "The Comms don't work down here and it's too deep to hear what's going on up there. Even for me."

The Time Lord's head snapped up when the sound of a rocket reached our ears "A rocket."

"Do you think Rose and Damon are on it?"

"I hope so," the Doctor murmured, looking around the darkness "Did you find anything down here?"

I nodded "We're not alone, Doctor."

"What does that mean?" the Time Lord blinked.

I grabbed his hand, tugging him to a wall "There are paintings here. The history of some battle against a Beast or something. The Beast that was imprisoned here… It's over there." I pointed to a dark abyss that I had almost fallen into earlier because I wasn't looking.

The Doctor shone his torch to two bronze urns on pedestals "Maybe they are the key?" He reached his hand out to touch one of them, causing them both to light up "Or the gate… Or the bars." The cave lit up, revealing the impossibly big and horned creature that I had caught a glimpse of earlier. It had chains wrapped around its horns and limbs that were tying it to the wall "I take it this is the one you talked about, Ty?"

"You think?" I deadpanned.

He rolled his eyes "Oh, shush you."

"You were the one asking stupid questions," I pointed out, keeping my eyes on the Beast.

The Doctor stared at the thing in front of us, his expression hard "I accept that you exist," he admitted "I don't have to accept what you are but your physical existence, I'll give you that. I don't understand… I was expected down here. Both Tyra and I were expected and given a safe landing and air. You need us for something. What for?" He looked over at me, deep in thought "Have we got to, I don't know, beg an audience? Or is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe it, are they real?" I bit my lip, trying to refrain from saying something "Speak to me," the Doctor shouted at the Beast "Tell me." When no answer was forthcoming, he took a deep breath "You won't talk. Or you can't talk. Oh, hold on, wait a minute… Just let me… Oh. No. Yes."

"What the hell are you doing?" I blinked, watching him hit his head several times.

He barely spared me a glance though "Think it through. You spoke before, I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that. Brilliant. But, looking at you now, all I can see is Beast. The animal. Just the… body." The Doctor trailed off, his eyes widening "You're just the body, the physical form. What's happened to your mind, hm? Where's it gone?"

I gasped "Crap… Doctor, Toby. After that incident in his room… He died. Toby has been dead for a while now which would mean that…" The Beast started laughing at us, roaring out its amusement "They're taking him away."

The Time Lord paled a little at the thought and continued "You're imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between… Doesn't matter. The prison is perfect. It's absolute, it's eternal. Oh, yes." He snapped his fingers before pacing again "Open the prison, the gravity field collapses. This planet falls into the black hole. You escape, you die. Brilliant. But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all."

"But then why is it calling himself the Devil? What's up with that?" I frowned, trying to understand the way the Doctor's mind worked. I have been getting better at it but sometimes it was still hard to keep up with the man.

"The devil is an idea," he explained "In all those civilisations, just an idea. But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind of the great Beast. The mind can escape. You didn't give us air, your jailers did. They set this up all those years ago. They need us alive because if you're escaping, then I've got to stop you. If I can destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it." The Doctor looked around before picking up a stone. He raised his arm to smash one of the urns before closing his eyes "But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I have to sacrifice my friends." He looked at me with serious eyes "We have to sacrifice out friends."

I licked my lips "But if it's the only way. Damon knows what he got himself into. I don't know how or why but he does."

"So that's the trap, is it?" the Doctor huffed "Or the test or the final judgement, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill them. Except that implies in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils that they're just victims. I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods and out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in my Companions." He smashed the urn, causing the laughter of the Beast to turn into angry roars. When the second urn was shattered into pieces, the Doctor dropped the rock and grabbed my hand "This is your freedom. Free to die. You're going into that black hole and we're riding with you."

I turned to him with a small grin "Not necessarily," I breathed "I found her earlier before I almost fell from that ledge." The Time Lord shot me a confused look but I just tugged at his hand again, trying to keep on my feet while the ground was shaking harshly. This was even worse than the Tardis…

**Third Person PoV**

The rocket started shaking violently. Danny tensed, looking at the Captain in fear "What happened? What was that?"

Toby narrowed his eyes "What's he doing? What is he doing?" Damon tilted his head at the guy, seeing the change in him immediately.

"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse," Zach called out to the others, trying desperately to save the situation somehow.

Rose gripped her seat tightly "What does that mean?"

"We can't escape," Zach breathed, giving up "We're headed straight for the black hole."

Rose closed her eyes in realization "It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling."

"I am the rage," Toby – or the Beast roared, his face covered in symbols again.

"It's Toby," Rose cried out "Zach, do something."

"You know, Tyra has told me to keep an eye on you. Not that she needed to. The fact that you are dead is a very concerning point," Damon said, looking straight at Toby.

"Dead?" Zach frowned, looking back at the vampire who had saved Jefferson earlier. The older man was still knocked out but other than that, he seemed fine "What do you mean 'dead'?"

The vampire shrugged "I mean that his heart stopped beating. In fact, it stopped beating not too long after we first got here."

"And the bile and the ferocity," the Beast continued, ignoring the conversation around him. They wouldn't be able to stop this. Curse that Doctor and that girl. Although, no matter how much he tried to deny it, the Beast was curious about her. He killed her and not even ten minutes later, she was back up as if nothing happened. Not immortal but something very similar… "I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness."

Danny shuddered at both the words and the image that was Toby "It's him. It's him. It's him."

"Stay where you are," Zach shouted over his shoulder "The ship's not stable." When he saw Toby breathe out fire, he gasped "What is he? What the hell is he?"

"I shall never die," the Beast announced "The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust…"

Damon kicked the bolt gun to Rose which she had dropped earlier "Do what you have to," he called, keeping his eyes on the dead guy.

"Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing."

Rose raised the gun shakily "Go to hell." With that, she shot out the front screen of the rocket while the vampire unfastened the Beast's seatbelt, causing him to get sucked out into space.

Zach quickly worked on the controls, trying to raise the emergency shields "Emergency shields," he breathed in relief when metal shutters sealed the hole "We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole."

Rose shook her head "But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done."

"Tyra too," Damon murmured "Well, new Tyra."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny frowned, turning to look at the raven-haired vampire.

The Salvatore shrugged "She's never been the way she is now… Not that it's a bad thing."

"Some victory," Zach rolled his eyes, trying to hide his fear "We're going in. Accelerate… I did my best. But hey." He let out a wry grin "First human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History."

All of a sudden the shaking stopped completely and the rocket calmed "What happened?" Rose frowned, looking around.

"We're turning," the captain blinked in confusion "We're turning around. We're turning away."

**Tyra PoV**

"Sorry about the hijack, Captain," the Doctor said after establishing a connection to the rocket "This is the good ship Tardis. Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Rose Tyler and a Damon Salvatore on board?"

" _I'm here,_ " Rose called excitedly " _It's me. Damon is here too. Oh, my God… Where are you?_ "

The Doctor looked at me and back to the console "I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap? Say… You give me Rose and Damon, I'll give you Ida Scott?"

" _She's alive?_ " Zach breathed.

Danny laughed " _Yes. Thank God._ "

I knelt down next to the unconscious woman, checking her pulse again "She's fine," I nodded.

"Bit of oxygen starvation," the Doctor relied "But she should be alright. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet." A small sound sounded through the Tardis "AH. Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."

Ida was slowly waking up when I helped her out of the Tardis and to where Danny was waiting. The man was staring at the Tardis in confusion before coming over to support his colleague "What is that?"

"The Tardis," I smiled mysteriously before going over to join Damon and Rose in walking back into the blue box.

"Are you alright?" the younger vampire murmured quietly.

I nodded "I'm fine, Damon." I tilted my head, watching Rose run to the Doctor, flinging her arms around him "What about you?"

"Fine," Damon sighed, wrapping me into his arms. He rested his chin on my head "Ty, I've been thinking. Maybe it's time for me to go back to Mystic Falls."

"I was wondering when you were going to say anything," I smiled, turning my face into his chest "I'm going to miss you though."

The younger vampire pressed a small kiss to the top of my head "You can always come and visit."

"And you can call," I told him.

"Zach?" the Doctor spoke up from the console. When had he changed back into his suit? "We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home and next time you get curious about something… Oh, what's the point… You'll just go blundering in." He shook his head with an exasperated smile "The human race."

" _But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature, what was it?_ " Ida called.

I swallowed, thinking about the creature. The Doctor caught my gaze and I tilted my head "I don't know," he murmured "Never did decipher that writing. But that's good. Day I know everything? Might as well stop."

Rose turned to look up at him, while I sank onto the jump seat with Damon's arms still around me "What do you think it was, really?"

"I think we beat it," the Time Lord pointed out with a subtle edge to his voice "That's good enough for me."

"It said I was going to die in battle," the blonde murmured.

The Doctor blew out a breath "Then it lied. Right, onwards, upwards… Ida? See you again, maybe."

" _I hope so,_ " Ida smiled.

"And thanks, boys," Rose added.

Before the Doctor could cut the connection, Ida continued " _Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You four, who are you?_ "

The Time Lord smirked, looking at all of us "Oh, the stuff of legends."

A little while later, we were in the Time Vortex, just sitting around the console room in silence when Damon spoke up "Doctor? I think… Could you bring me back home?"

The Time Lord blinked and glanced to me "Er, sure. Same time you left?"

"Maybe a few days later or something," the vampire shrugged "It doesn't really matter."

I snorted "As long as it's not a year… Or a hundred."

"That was once," the Doctor complained.

"Face it, Doc," I shook my head "That happens more often than you care to admit. Dickens, bringing Rose back a year late and Queen Victoria… Elvis."

The Time Lord huffed "Alright, alright. I get it." A smirk crossed his face "Twice then."

I shook my head, letting out a small laugh "Alright. If you want to delude yourself into thinking that."

"Here we are," the Doctor gestured as the Tardis stopped shaking "Mystic Falls. A few days after we picked you up, Damon."

Damon tilted his head "Are you sure about that?"

"Not you too," the Time Lord grumbled but looked at the monitor "Yes. I'm sure that it's only been… three days."

"That's fine, then," the younger vampire smirked before ruffling my hair "Don't be a stranger, Ty."

I hummed, wrapping my arms around his neck "I won't be."

Damon nodded before clasping the Doctor's shoulder "Thank you for taking me along, Doctor. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." He looked over at Rose for a moment before nodding at her "Rose."

"If you ever want to come along again, just call Tyra," the Time Lord smiled, nodding his head at the vampire "It was nice to meet you."

The Salvatore glanced at me "I'm sure it was." He lowered his voice to a whisper that only I could understand "When you weren't jealous."

"Damon," I exclaimed, shoving him to the door "No. Just… No."

"You're so blind," he teased before making his way to the door "I'm gonna enjoy telling you 'I told you so' in the future."

I huffed, shaking my head at him. He was an ass… The Doctor raised his eyebrow in confusion "What was that about?"

My cheeks coloured lightly "Nothing. Damon was just being an ass."

"Doctor?" the younger vampire called from the open door "I want to show you something."

The Time Lord gave me a confused look and I shrugged "Just humour him. It's usually better. I'm going to my room to grab some blood and sleep." Before I walked out, I hugged him "I'm glad you're okay."

**Third Person PoV**

The Doctor stared after Tyra, shaking his head in confusion. He really liked her but… she didn't feel the same thing, right? All the hugs and everything. She was just being nice.

"Doctor."

"I'm coming," the Time Lord huffed, walking out of the Tardis to join the younger vampire "What's wrong?"

Damon shook his head "Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Alright," the Doctor nodded, already knowing that he wanted to talk about Tyra."

"I need you to look after Tyra," Damon said seriously. The Doctor was about to open his mouth to tell the vampire that she could look after herself when Damon held up his hand "I know that she can look after herself but I'm scared that she's going to snap sooner or later.

The Doctor opened his mouth in protest "Snap…?"

"Tyra is a genuinely good person, no matter what she thinks about herself but I'm worried, Doctor," the Salvatore cut him off, trying to get the man to understand. He didn't understand… Not yet "I've seen her snap before and if someone annoys her enough, I fear that it could potentially be a disaster. Please… I just need to know that you won't abandon her if something does happen."

The Time Lord looked up at the vampire, his eyes serious as can be "I promise you that no matter what she does I won't abandon her. I want to help."

"That's the thing," Damon pointed out "She doesn't need help. She needs someone who accepts her unconditionally. Just the way you need someone to stop you sometimes."

"I…" the Doctor broke off and cleared his throat "I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure she is happy. I won't even abandon her. Not even for killing… I know that she's a vampire and that killing is somewhat in her nature, so I can't blame her for doing that."

Damon smiled lightly and clapped his shoulder before walking towards the Boarding House that was in the distance "That's all I needed to hear."


	13. Fear Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Brookie Twiling for helping me with the speech that Tyra gives. If you read this you'll see I changed it a little but the part is technically still yours, so thank you so much.
> 
> I hope that you'll like the chapter, guys.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

_Flashback_

_Tyra was hanging out with the Doctor and Rose in the console room, talking about where to go next when her phone started ringing. She glanced down at the display in surprise and answered "Hello?"_

" _Tyra," a hysterical voice came through the speaker of the phone "Please, you have to help us. They're coming to kill us."_

_The Original shot up from when she was sitting on the railing "Jack, Jack, calm down and tell me what's going on. Who is coming?" Jack was part of the London Alpha Coven and one of her friends. The vampire didn't see him as often as she wanted since she didn't really spend too much time in England anymore but whenever she did, Tyra visited him at least once._

" _Vampires. Vampires are coming after us. I don't know what we did but they started hunting us down," Jack explained, slightly less hysterically._

" _Okay," Tyra murmured, running a hand through her hair "Where are you now?"_

_Jack let out a shaky breath "Safe for now. They can't enter the house."_

" _Good. That's good… Can you tell me what date it is? Don't ask, just tell me," she asked him, looking at the Doctor. Her hand went over the speaker part of the phone "I need to go to London immediately. As close to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford as you can get me. Linear time."_

_The Doctor nodded seriously and set the Tardis into motion "Sure."_

" _Jack? I'll be there as soon as I can. Stay inside until I come. Don't open the door, don't do anything until I'm there. Do you understand?" the Original demanded._

" _Y – Yeah. But Tyra… Our kids are still in school. They're going to come here soon."_

_She cursed loudly "Call the school. Tell them to keep the kids. Am I still an emergency contact? I'll pick them up and take them to my house."_

" _Thank you," the warlock breathed in relief, commanding someone to call the schools of their children "I'll text you the addresses. I'm sorry for troubling you."_

" _Not at all," the vampire waved off, holding onto the railing she had been sitting on previously "I told you that I would take care of all of you. After all, you're one of mine." When the Tardis stopped shaking, Tyra sighed "I'm coming, alright? Just hang tight." she hung up the phone, sliding it back into her pocket with a long sigh._

_The Doctor looked over at the girl "Everything alright?"_

" _I'm not sure," she mumbled "Some… acquaintances need my help with… You heard."_

" _Do you want us to come with you?" he asked._

_Tyra shook her head "No. They don't trust outsiders much. Sorry… I'll call you when I'm done, alright?"_

_The Time Lord walked over, placing his hands on the vampire's shoulders "Be careful."_

" _Don't worry about me," Tyra smiled._

_Rose made a noise at the back of her throat, her disgust rising. Really, why did Tyra think that she was so much better than her? Rose would make a better vampire than the other girl ever could. She wouldn't be a murderer for one "So what are you going to do? Kill them all?"_

_Tyra looked over at the blonde and glared in annoyance "Don't talk about things you don't understand, Rose. They are after people under my protection."_

_The Doctor looked hesitant before nudging the Original towards the door "Go on, then. Don't forget to call."_

" _I won't. Thanks for this… I don't know…"_

" _I expect a story out of this one," the Time Lord pointed at her with a small grin. He might not be happy about what might happen but he understood where she was coming from "Go and help your acquaintances."_

_End Flashback_

"You promised me a story," the Doctor spoke up from behind me.

I leaned my head over the edge of my bed and groaned "Now?"

"Yup," the Time Lord nodded, throwing himself onto the bed next to me "No time like the present."

"Says the time traveller," I snorted.

The Doctor poked my side "Come on. Please?"

"Stop looking at me like that," I mumbled, shoving a pillow into his pouting face "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"What happened? Who was the guy who called you?" the Doctor frowned.

I rolled to the side to look at him "Why? You jealous?"

"You wish," the Time Lord grumbled "No. I just want to know what happened."

"Some friends of mine," I started "I promised them that I would take care of them and theirs. They are under my protection. A group of vampires thought it was a good idea to threaten them. I took care of it. No one harms the people under my protection."

The Doctor hummed "But why are they under your protection? What makes them so special?"

"They just are. Maybe I'll tell you sometime," I shrugged "It's not too important at the moment." I sighed "I went to see Jackie too, you know? Met Elton…"

"Yeah? What did you think of him?"

I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say "I have no idea. He's… different, that's for sure."

"Him and LINDA," the Doctor grinned "They've been around for a bit. I think I heard of a LINDA in my earlier regenerations… I was so embarrassed back then. Funny how people change."

"Well, they were your biggest fans," I coughed in amusement "You have that kind of aura that just draws in the crazies."

The Time Lord grimaced before a grin stole its way across his face "Does that make you one of the crazies too?"

"Hm. I thought you already knew that I was crazy," I shifted, sitting up with my legs crossed.

The Doctor, still sprawled on the bed, glanced up "You said it."

"Doesn't mean that you have to agree," I huffed before shaking my head "So… Where are we going next? Any idea?"

"I was thinking we could go to the London Olympics," the Time Lord offered "Or maybe we could finally go to Barcelona."

I tilted my head "I'd say Olympics. What year are they?"

"2012," the Doctor replied.

"Hm. Well, I'm not much into sports but we can still go to Barcelona some other time," I shrugged "We have waited this long."

The Doctor hummed and rolled himself to his feet "Olympics it is. Let's get Rose and get going."

About half an hour later, the three of us were gathered in the console room, Rose and I watching the Doctor fly the Tardis. As soon as she materialised, the Doctor grinned at us, running to the door. He froze in the doorway and grimaced "Ah." Over his shoulder, I could see the wall of a container blocking the way out.

"Messed up the landing?" I teased, smirking as the Time Lord trudged back to the console pressing a few switches.

"It's not my fault," the Doctor huffed, throwing a small glare to the console. He opened the door again and stepped out "Better."

Rose followed him, shaking her head in exasperation. She checked out the posters on the container and raised an eyebrow "So, near future, yeah?"

The Doctor blinked "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. Thirtieth Olympiad."

"No way," the blonde laughed "Why didn't I think of that? That's great."

"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about," the Time Lord shook his head in remembrance "Wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood around baying. No, wait a minute, that was Club Med. Just in time for the opening doodah, ceremony tonight. I thought the two of you would like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948."

"Hm," I mumbled "I think I was still in Africa back then."

The Doctor looked around "I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch. Lovely chap, what was his name?" My attention was drawn to a man who was putting up missing posters a few feet away. Rose noticed him too and walked over "Mark? John? Mark? Legs like pipe cleaners but strong as a whippet."

"Doctor," she called out, causing me to join her.

I blinked at the posters on the wall "This is… not totally unexpected. Why does this always happen to us?"

"I have no idea," the blonde mumbled before turning back to the still rambling Doctor "Doctor."

"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top?" the Time Lord questioned.

I snorted "Doc, I think you should come and take a look at this."

"Do you know those things, Ty?" the Doctor asked, walking over to us "Nobody else in the entire galaxy has ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius." He glanced over my shoulder at the two missing posters "What's taking them, do you think? Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold? Is someone reducing the temperature?"

Rose looked over her shoulder at him "It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?"

"Maybe it's not a person," I offered with a shrug.

Rose crossed her arms "Well, whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death." Before she even finished, the Doctor ran up the street to investigate the front lawn of a house "Doctor, what…?"

As the two of us walked over, a car stopped in the middle of the road, the engine giving out. One of the road menders went over "There you go," he mumbled, looking at the driver "Fifth today. Not natural, is it?"

"I don't know what happened," the driver frowned in confusion "I had it serviced less than a month ago."

The roadmender shook his head "Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. All the cars are doing it. And do you know what? It's bonkers," he exclaimed "Bonkers. Come on then, pal. I'll help you shift it. Quicker you're on the way, happier you'll be." The two men started pushing at the car, making very little progress.

"Do you want a hand?" Rose offered.

"No, we're alright, love," the worker shook his head, obviously struggling.

Rose raised her eyebrow "You're not. I'm tougher than I look, honest." She joined them in pushing at the car before glaring over at me. I had been watching with an amused look, my arms crossed "A little help?"

"I thought you were tougher than you look, Rose," I mocked, watching them make slow progress.

"Don't be a bitch, Tyra," the blonde grunted. I tilted my head and went to help somewhat reluctantly when the engine suddenly burst into life.

The worker fell over as the driver quickly got back into his car "Cheers, mate."

I held out my hand, pulling the worker back to his feet easily as Rose looked at him "Does this happen a lot?"

"Been doing that all week," the man huffed.

Rose inhaled "Since those children started going missing?"

I looked over to where the Doctor was and saw a man standing over the Time Lord angrily "Oh dear…" I mumbled under my breath, hurrying over in time to hear the Doctor's reply.

"Quite good at squash. Reasonable," he shrugged "I'm being facetious, aren't I? There's no call for it." The Time Lord got up, slowly stumbling back towards the street "I'm – I'm a police officer. That's what I am. I've got a badge and a police car." I coughed in amusement, earning myself a look from both the angry man as well as the Doctor "You don't have to get… I can – I can prove it. Just hold on."

"We've had plenty of coppers poking around in here," the man – probably one of the missing children's parents hissed. He had been the one to put up the posters earlier, so it was a fair assumption "And you don't look like any of them."

I tilted my head "Are you stereotyping the police force?"

The Doctor threw his arm around my shoulders and gestured to Rose "See, look? I've got colleagues."

"They look less like a copper than you do," the man snorted before glancing at me "And too young too."

"Training," the Time Lord cut in before I could open my mouth to protest. I knew that depending on what I was wearing and my hairstyle I could look anything between sixteen and twenty-something. At least, it was better than to be mistaken as a child every single time "New recruits. It was either that or hairdressing, so… Voila." The Doctor brandished his psychic paper in front of the man, still backing away towards Rose.

Several people had come out of their houses now, joining the crowd "What are you going to do?" a dark-skinned woman questioned suspiciously.

"The police have knocked on every door," an older woman cut in "No clues, no leads, nothing."

"Look," the man who had put the posters up sighed "Kids run off sometimes, alright? That's what they do."

The old woman stepped forward "Saw it with me own eyes. Dale Hicks in your garden, playing with your Tommy and then pfft. Right in front of me, like he was never there. There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us."

"Why don't we…"

The Doctor was cut off by one of the other women "Why don't we start with him?" she sneered, jabbing her finger at the council worker "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."

"Fixing things up for the Olympics," he defended himself.

Tom's father crossed his arms "Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it."

"I'm of the opinion that all we've got to do is just…" the Doctor started, only to be cut off again.

"You don't," the worker shouted "What you just said, that's slander."

The woman scoffed "I don't care what it is."

"I think we need to just…"

"I want an apology of her," the worker demanded, glaring at the woman who had accused him of being responsible for the missing children.

I patted the Doctor's shoulder when his put out look registered "Have fun," I whispered, leaning over to him.

"Stop picking on him," the old woman muttered.

The worker nodded "Yeah, stop picking on me."

"And stop pretending to be blind," the old woman huffed out "It's evil."

"I don't believe in evil," the woman from before denied, looking at the older woman as if she had lost her mind.

The council worker scoffed "Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van."

"Here, here, here," Tom's dad held up his hands "That's not what she's saying."

"Would you stop ganging up on me," the worker groaned in annoyance.

The woman smirked "Feeling guilty, are we?"

"Fingers on lips," the Doctor shouted, finally cutting through the argument. The others slowly joined in and even Rose eventually raised her finger, making the shush gesture.

I scoffed when the Time Lord sent me a look "Yeah, n – hmpf." I was pulled against his chest with his hand over my mouth.

"Your own fault," he murmured into my ear before raising his voice "In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?"

The old woman nodded and looked down at her finger "Er, can I?" The Doctor nodded "Look around you. This was a safe street till it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will. Maybe you're coppers, maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?"

I twisted away from the Doctor's hand before looking up when I heard something inside the house next to me. One of the women noticed a girl standing by the window and walked inside the house.

A little later, when the group had disbanded, the Doctor was back at Tom's house, sniffing the air. I didn't need to ask what he was doing as the smell lingered but he did look rather like a bloodhound or a dog in general. Rose raised her eyebrow in amusement "Want a hanky?"

"Can you smell it?" the Doctor asked me and I nodded "What does it remind you of?"

I licked my lips "Metal. Some sort of metal or something."

"Mm-hm," the Time Lord nodded before getting up, hurrying in the direction of a back alley between two back gardens "Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other." He shuddered lightly, holding out his hand "Whoa, there it goes again. Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand."

Rose raised her hand to her nose "And there's that smell again."

"There's residual energy," the Time Lord explained "In the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this." He shook his head, wandering back out of the side alley to the street.

Rose cooed from behind the Doctor and I "Aren't you a beautiful boy?" The Time Lord turned around in confusion before seeing Rose talking to a small orange cat "I used to have on like that, you know." She glanced up, seeing the Doctor grimace lightly "What?"

"No… I'm not really a cat person," he mumbled "Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it."

I rolled my eyes "At least you weren't pushed over the railing by Rose… Well, Cassandra but you know?"

"How did she manage to push you anyway?" the Doctor frowned.

I shifted uncomfortably "She tried to take me over and I might have stumbled. Things happened and I fell."

"You tripped, didn't you?" he snorted "That is so like you."

"I didn't…"

"Doctor," Rose shouted from a little away. The blonde was kneeling next to a cardboard box. I froze a few feet away from the box because the smell was stronger than ever and it made me sick.

"Whoa," the Time Lord blinked, his eyes watering "Ion residue. Blimey… That takes some doing. Just to snatch a living organism out of space-time. This baby is just like – I'm having some of that. I'm impressed."

Rose tilted her head "So the cat's been transported?"

"It can harness huge reserves of ionic power," the Doctor explained "We need to find the source of that power. Find the source and you will find whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. Ty, go that way, will you? See what you can see. Rose…"

The blonde glanced at me "I'm going with Tyra."

The Doctor frowned in confusion "Erm… Alright? Tyra?"

"Yeah, it's fine," I waved him off, tilting my head thoughtfully. I had no idea what this was about but nothing good came out of Rose doing something that was considered nice or thoughtful. After Damon had denied Rose, I had hoped that she would give up her idiotic notions of becoming a vampire.

As soon as we were out of the Doctor's earshot, the blonde stopped "What did you tell Damon, huh?"

"Why?" I asked "Because he didn't turn you? Rose, when will you finally give up?"

"When I can stay with the Doctor," she pointed out with narrowed eyes.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed in exasperation "Okay, let's say that I do turn you." When the blonde's eyes lit up, I shook my head "Hypothetically. Let's say I turn you. Do you honestly think that the Doctor will still let you travel with him?"

"He lets you travel with him," Rose shrugged "At least he wouldn't have to stop me from killing people.

"If I do turn you – If I turn you the Doctor won't let either of us continue to travel with him," I hissed through clenched teeth "I don't know how often I have to tell you. Being a vampire is not what you expect. You won't be able to control your hunger. It takes time. Do you really want to leave your mother?"

Rose huffed "You're just saying that because you don't want me to continue asking."

"Are you kidding me right now?" I groaned "Okay, I will tell you one more time. Bloodlust is one of the worst things you can experience as a vampire. Your senses are heightened. Remember what you did at Christmas? If I turn you then you wouldn't be able to stop yourself. You could hear the blood pumping through your mother's veins, hear her heartbeat and then – before you know what you're doing, you could have her pinned against a wall, your teeth buried in her neck. Do you want that? It doesn't even have to be your mother. Anyone. I'm over a thousand years old and I still have trouble controlling myself when I'm hungry. I can stop myself just fine but you'll always have the urge to just bite down."

"Then I'll just drink from blood bags as you do," Rose shrugged, still not getting what I was trying to tell her. How could someone be this… stubborn? I have told her time and time again, explained my reasoning but she just didn't stop "I really don't get why you keep saying no."

Before the blonde could react, I had thrown her against the garage of a three-story house "For the last time. No. I'm not turning you and if you don't get that through your thick skull, I will tell the Doctor."

"Are you threatening me?" Rose asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"I don't know, Rose," I smiled sweetly, keeping a light grip on her throat "Am I? Nothing stops me from compelling you again. So far I didn't because I promised the Doctor. But if you don't leave me the hell alone, I'm going to make you."

The blonde's eyes darted across my face "Then I'll just tell him. I could tell him right now."

I smirked "And what are you going to tell him? That you asked me to turn you into a vampire? Let's be realistic Rose. You don't want him to find out about this and I'm not joking around anymore. It stopped being funny a long time ago."

The two of us froze when a noise came from behind the door. I took a step back from Rose. The blonde tilted her head "Is that you, puss cat? Are you trapped?" She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes, clearly wary but I honestly didn't care anymore. I had tried to be nice but that didn't work. There were more noises and thumping "Not going to open it," Rose mumbled to herself "Not going to open it, not going to open… Oh…" She gently opened the door as a big ball of scribble knocked her down.

I snorted as the Doctor came running, his sonic in hand "Stay still," the Time Lord shouted. With the help of his screwdriver, the ball became hand-sized, falling right into Rose's hand "Okay?"

"Yeah," Rose breathed, glaring at the sight of my grin "Cheers."

"No probs," the Doctor shrugged, taking the ball from the blonde "I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is." He held the ball up to his face and frowned "Because I haven't got the foggiest."

The blonde huffed "Well, I can tell you, you've just killed it."

The Doctor shook his head "It was never living. Just animated by energy. The same energy that's snatching people. That is so dinky. The go anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket, makes friends, impresses the boss, breaks the ice at parties."

"I think you're overestimating that thing," I snorted "The only point I would agree is the fitting in your pocket part. Why would you even take it to parties?"

"Why not?" the Doctor asked "It is rather nifty."

"Nifty is not what I would call it," I muttered, following the Time Lord to the Tardis.

Back in the Tardis, the ball was sitting on the console, being examined "Oh, hi ho, here we go," the Doctor exclaimed "Let's have a look." He read the information on the screen and blinked in shock "Get out of here."

"What's it say?" Rose questioned curiously, practically hanging from the man's shoulder.

The Doctor shifted out of her grip, grabbing a pencil with one hand and the ball with the other. He used the eraser part of the pencil to rub some of the ball out "It is," he breathed "It's graphite. Basically the same material as an HB pencil."

I started laughing "You got attacked by a pencil scribble, Rose?"

"Shut up, Tyra," the blonde huffed "I didn't see you helping." She turned to the Doctor "I was attacked by a pencil scribble though?"

"Scribble creature," the Time Lord corrected "Brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But why make a scribble creature?"

Rose hummed "Maybe it was a mistake. I mean, you scribble over something when you want to get rid of it. Like a – like a drawing."

"Like a child's drawing," I added in realization "That girl in the window earlier. I glanced to the blonde "Did you see her too?"

"Of course," the Doctor shouted before he looked to us "What girl?"

Rose nodded "Something about her gave me the creeps," she admitted "Even her own mum looked scared of her."

"Are you two deducting?" the Doctor asked in surprise.

"Well, someone has to what with you being as oblivious as you are," I mocked with a grin.

The Time Lord cuffed me over the back of the head lightly "Less cheek out of you."

"Hello?" Rose waved her hand between us "The girl?"

"Right," the Doctor nodded, striding back out of the Tardis with purpose before stopping in the middle of the street "Right… Which house is it again?"

I shook my head at him and pointed to the left "That one." We walked to the front door. The Doctor rang the doorbell and was about to reach out to rattle the letterbox as well when I caught his hand "Someone's coming."

The dark-skinned woman from earlier opened the door, eyeing us suspiciously "Hello," the Time Lord waved "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. Can we see your daughter?"

"No," the woman snapped "You can't."

The Doctor shrugged "Okay. Bye." With that we turned around, walking off.

"Why?" the woman called out, stopping us "Why do you want to see Chloe?"

"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street and I just thought," the Time Lord explained "Well, we thought that she might like to give us a hand."

Rose nodded in agreement "Sorry to bother you," she added.

"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things," the Doctor apologized "On your own. Bye again."

The woman closed her eyes for a moment, her expression turning helpless and vulnerable "Wait. Can you help her?"

The Time Lord smiled gently "Yes, I can."

She took a deep breath and nodded, stepping back and motioned for us to follow her inside her house "I'm Trish, by the way. Sorry, I can't remember your names."

"That's alright," Rose told her "I'm Rose. That's the Doctor and Tyra."

In the living room, the television was one, showing the torch bearer " _The Torch Bearer is running up the Mall, which I can tell you is…_ " the news guy announced before Trish muted him. Rose sat herself down on the sofa, while I leaned against the wall next to her.

"She stays in her room most of the time," Trish explained "I try talking to her but it's like speaking to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."

Rose looks up at her "What about Chloe's dad?"

The woman immediately went tense "Chloe's dad died a year ago." I bit my lip at the reaction, aware of what her tone of voice most likely meant.

"I'm sorry," I told her quietly.

She snorted "You wouldn't be if you'd known him."

I shook my head "I'm sorry for what you went through."

The Doctor rested his hand on my shoulder lightly, ignoring Trish's curious look "Well, let's go and say hi."

"I should check on her first," Trish shifted, hesitating for a second "She might be asleep."

"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" the Time Lord murmured.

She swallowed before straightening up "I want you to know before you see her that she's really a great kid."

"I'm sure she is," I told her softly.

"She's never been in trouble at school," Trish told us, sounding like a proud mother. Not that I knew how that was… "You should see her report from last year. A's and B's."

Rose coughed lightly "Can I use your loo?"

The woman nodded as I turned my head to watch her leave the room with a frown "She's in the choir," the mother continued "She's singing in an old folks home. Any mum would be proud. You know…" She trailed off as the sound of small footsteps came from the direction of the stairs "I want you to know these things before you see her. Because right now, she's not herself."

The Doctor nodded before leaned over to glance into the kitchen "Alright, there?" he called as the two of us walked into the kitchen with Trish "I'm the Doctor."

"I'm Chloe Webber," the girl said, putting the milk carton back into the fridge.

I smiled lightly "Nice to meet you, Chloe."

"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?" the Doctor asked.

The girl narrowed her eyes "I'm busy. I'm making something, aren't I, mum?"

Trish paled lightly, throwing us an apologetic look "And like I said, she's not been sleeping."

"But you've been drawing, though," the Doctor remarked, glancing at the girl's hands "I'm rubbish. Stickmen about my limit. Can do this, though." He gave her the Vulcan salute.

I jabbed my elbow in his side, shaking my head "Are you serious right now?"

"Can you do that?"

Chloe barely looked at him "They don't stop moaning."

"Chloe," Trish warned.

"I try to help them," she insisted "But they don't stop moaning."

The Doctor tilted his head "Who don't?"

"We can be together," Chloe murmured.

Trish leaned down to look at her daughter, reaching out to pull her into a hug "Sweetheart."

"Don't touch me, mum," she jerked back.

My head snapped up when I heard sounds coming from upstairs "What is she doing?" I mumbled under my breath.

"Ty?"

" _I'm coming,_ " a deep, menacing voice called from upstairs.

The Time Lord grabbed my shoulder "What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth a few times "Doctor, there's…"

"Doctor," Rose called hurriedly.

"That," I finished, running after the man and up the stairs.

" _I'm coming to hurt you,_ " the voice taunted and I shivered.

The Doctor shut the door, cutting off the light coming from the closet. Rose stared at him with wide eyes "Look at it."

"No," the Time Lord snapped before walking around the room, looking at the pictures.

Trish who had frozen at the sound of the voice whirled around to look at Rose "What the hell was that?"

"A drawing," Rose explained "The face of a man."

"What face?"

I grabbed a hold of her arm gently "Trish. Don't."

She shook me off and narrowed her eyes on her daughter "What've you been drawing?"

"I've drawn him yesterday," Chloe admitted with a shrug.

"Who?"

The little girl looked up "Dad."

"Your dad?" Trish blinked "But he's long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world, why him?"

"I dream about him, staring at me," Chloe admitted. I walked over to stand next to the Doctor, trying desperately not to think about my own father. I had been having a few nightmares in the days after I saw him again.

"What is that?" I asked quietly, looking at the drawings.

The Doctor glanced down, seeing the look on my face "Hey, are you alright?"

I looked away "I'm fine. Focus on helping Chloe. She's more important."

"That's not true," he argued, glancing at the group of three at the other end of the room.

"Maybe not," I shrugged "But I should be over it already. They have their own healing process still ahead of them."

The Doctor squeezed my hand for a short moment before turning to Chloe "Tell us about the drawings, Chloe."

"I don't want to hear any more of this," Trish snapped.

"But that drawing of her dad," Rose argued "I heard a voice. He spoke. Tyra, did you hear it too?" I just looked at her quietly before I nodded lightly.

Trish wrapped her arms around herself in a hug "He's dead. And these, they're kid's pictures. Now get out."

"Chloe has a power," the blonde murmured, looking at the child curiously "And I don't know how but she used it to take Danny Edwards and Dale Hicks. She's using it to snatch the kids."

"Get out," Trish spat, glaring at Rose.

Rose shook her head "Have you seen those drawings move?"

"I haven't seen anything," the woman lied.

The Doctor sighed lowly "Yes, you have, out of the corner of your eye."

"No," Trish denied.

"And you dismissed it," the Time Lord continued, ignoring her protests "Because what choice fo you have when you see something you can't possibly explain? You dismiss it, right? And if anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever again."

Trish looked away "She's a child."

"You're terrified of her," I murmured, seeing the look in her eyes.

The Doctor put a silencing hand on my shoulder "There's nowhere to turn to, because who's going to believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except for me."

"Who are you?" the woman breathed.

"I'm help," the Time Lord said, staring into Trish's eyes.

Down in the kitchen, the Doctor swiped a jar of jam off the kitchen counter as he leaned against it. He unscrewed the lid and dipped his fingers in it, sticking them into his mouth. I grabbed the jar out of his hands with a small sigh and shot an apologetic grin at Trish. The Time Lord glanced over at the woman as well, only to see her eyeing him curiously. He gave a sheepish shrug, playing with the lid that he was still holding.

"Those pictures," Rose started, rolling her eyes at the Doctor's antics "They're alive. She's drawing people and they end up in her pictures."

"Ionic energy," the Doctor added "Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kind of holding pen made up of ionic power."

Rose leaned back "And what about the dad from hell in her wardrobe?"

"Rose," I warned, knowing how uncomfortable that topic was to those it affected.

"How many times do I have to tell you he's dead?" Trish snapped.

The blonde huffed "Well, he's got a very loud voice for a dead bloke."

"Stop it, Rose," I hissed "Drop it, alright?"

"If living things can become drawing," the Time Lord cut in before we could start an argument "Then maybe drawings can become living things. Chloe's real dad is dead but not the one who visits her in her nightmares. That dad seems very real. That's the dad she's drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world."

Trish sighed, looking down at her fingers "She always got the worst of it when he was alive."

"You shouldn't blame yourself," I told her "People like him always find a reason to hurt others. I don't think you wouldn't have been able to stop him."

"How do you know so much?" the woman asked.

I met her eyes for a moment before looking to the Doctor "I think you know."

"Doctor, how can a twelve-year-old girl be doing any of this?" Rose asked, ignoring what Trish and I had been talking about. She might think she knows a lot but this? This was something she wouldn't be able to understand. Despite growing up on an Estate, she had a loving mother who would do everything for her daughter. Everything.

The Doctor looked up to the ceiling "Let's find out." He strode out of the room and back up the stairs. I followed him up the stairs where Chloe was sitting on her bed. As soon as we walked into the room, the girl held up her hand in the Vulcan gesture the Doctor had shown her earlier "Nice one," the Time Lord complimented before kneeling before Chloe, holding her head in his hands, fingers on her temples. Her eyes immediately rolled back into her head for a moment before closing. The Doctor was using a similar technique to the one I had used to draw him out of his unconscious state after the regeneration. He closed his own eyes before Chloe suddenly fell backwards onto the bed with the Doctor catching her "There we go…"

Trish surged forward "I can't let him do this."

"Shush," Rose mumbled, her eyes on the Doctor "It's okay. Trust him."

The Doctor straightened up and looked down at the child on the bed "Now we can talk."

"I want Chloe," Chloe spoke up in a raspy whisper, the voice clearly not her own "Wake her up. I want Chloe."

"Who are you?" the Doctor frowned.

Chloe huffed "I want Chloe Webber."

"What've you done to my little girl?" Trish demanded, her hand reaching out to grasp mine. I glanced at her for a second before choosing not to say anything about the hard grip she had on my hand.

Rose stepped forward "Doctor, what is it?"

The Doctor walked around the bed slowly until he was on Chloe's right, glancing over to Trish "I'm speaking to you," he started turning his attention back to the entity inside the girl "The entity that is using this human child. I request parley in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation."

"I don't care about shadows or parleys," Chloe rasped.

"So what do you care about?" the Time Lord tilted his head.

Chloe shifted "I want my friends."

"You're lonely," the Doctor realized "I know. Identify yourself."

"I am one of many," the girl said "I travel with my brothers and sisters. We take an endless journey. A thousand of your lifetimes. But now I am alone. I hate it. It's not fair and I hate it."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "Name yourself."

"Isolus."

"You're Isolus," the Time Lord breathed "Of course."

"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family," Chloe explained, her hand starting to move rapidly as she spoke.

Trish craned her neck "What's that?"

"The Isolus Mother," the Doctor murmured "Drifting in deep space. See, she jettisons millions of fledgeling spores. Her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotions but when they're cast off from their mother, their empathic link, their need for each other, is what sustains them. They need to be together. They cannot be alone."

Chloe stopped drawing "Our journey is long."

The Doctor nodded and continued to explain "The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod. They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. It takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up."

Rose gasped "Thousands of years just floating through space. Poor things. Don't they go mad with boredom?"

"We play," the Isolus exclaimed.

"You… play?" the blonde repeated incredulously.

The Doctor turned around "While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make-believe worlds in which to play."

"In-flight entertainment," Rose joked.

"Helps keep them happy," the Time Lord shrugged "While they're happy, they can feed off each others' love. Without it, they're lost. Why did you come to Earth?"

The Isolus huffed "We were too close." She started drawing again.

"That's a solar flare from your sun," the Doctor remarked "Would have made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods."

"Only I fell to Earth," the Isolus pouted "My brothers and sisters are left up there and I cannot reach them. So alone."

The Doctor rubbed a hand over his head, making his hair stick up everywhere "Your pod crashed. Where is it?"

"My pod was drawn to heat and I was drawn to Chloe Webber," she said "She was like me, alone. She needed me and I, her."

"You empathised with her," I mumbled, staring at the girl on the bed "She was just as alone as you were."

The Isolus grumbled "I want my family. It's not fair."

"I understand," the Doctor soothed "You want to make a family. But you can't stay in this child. It's wrong. You can't steal any more friends for yourself."

"I am alone," the child whined as a crash sounded from the wardrobe again. A red glow shone from inside as the door shook along with Chloe.

" _I'm coming to hurt you,_ " Chloe's dad called out " _I'm coming._ "

"Trish, how do you calm her?" the Doctor asked, quickly turning to look at the woman as Chloe's body jerked. Her face was impassive but her body was showing the fear that was radiating from her.

"What?" the woman asked, dropping my hand to sit down next to her daughter.

The Doctor gestured "When she has nightmares, what do you do?"

"I – I," Trish stuttered.

"What do you do?"

Trish licked her lips "I sing to her."

"Then start singing," the Doctor urged, his eyes trained on the closet. I inched between the bed and the closet, ready in case something worse happened.

Trish grabbed her daughter's hand and started singing slowly "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he…"

" _Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe._ "

"Laugh," the woman's voice cracked a little "Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be." Chloe fell asleep at the same time as the wardrobe fell silent. Trish sniffed, wiping at her tears "He came to her because she was lonely. Chloe, I'm sorry." She buried her head in her daughter's shoulder, her arms around the girl in a tight hug as she sobbed.

I bit on my lip harshly. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault but it felt wrong to give advice. Like with Tommy. I had no right to give anyone any advice if I couldn't let go of my past. The only difference was that Mikael was still around. He might be trapped in a tomb but that didn't mean that he would stay there forever. I glanced at the two on the bed one more time before I turned around, walking out of the room. I sank down on the sofa, my hands buried in my hair.

"You okay?" the Doctor asked quietly, sitting down next to me.

I flinched, not having him hear come in "Yes. Don't worry about it."

He wrapped his arms around me "I will always worry about you. I know that you're still scared of your father."

"Don't," I shook my head.

"Ty, it's –"

I shot up "I said don't," I snapped, storming out of the house. As soon as I was outside, I calmed down. The light wind ruffled my hair as I watched the worker – Kel, I think his name was. I stood outside for a little while longer, just ignoring the whole situation around me for a few minutes. When I went back into the house, the others had gathered all the pencils they could find. I grabbed the Doctor's sleeve and shifted when he looked down at me "I'm sorry," I mumbled "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

He grabbed a hold of my face, tilting my head up "I shouldn't have made you talk about it. Not here. We never talked about things outside of the Tardis and I guess I forgot that."

"It's not your fault," I shook my head "It's this whole situation."

Trish walked into the room, causing the Time Lord to let go of me "Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper when he'd had a drink," she spoke up softly "The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free. I thought it was over."

"Did you talk to her about it?" Rose asked. I held back, not wanting to snap at the blonde again. I was tired of this, tired of fighting with her but she didn't make it particularly easy when she kept going on about wanting to be turned.

Trish shook her head "I didn't want to."

"You were trying to avoid it," I murmured in understanding "I can tell you now that it doesn't work that way. Avoiding the subject made Chloe feel alone, feel like she couldn't talk to you about her nightmares."

The Doctor grasped my hand in his again "Her and the Isolus. Two lonely kids who need each other."

"And it won't stop," Rose realized "Will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in."

"It's desperate to be loved," the Time Lord nodded "It's used to a pretty big family."

We all looked at him "How big?"

He pulled at his earlobe uncomfortably "Say around four billion?" He paced, walking out of the house after a nod to Trish "We need that pod."

"It crashed," Rose pointed out, following us down the street "Won't it be destroyed?"

The Doctor hummed "Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can. Hopefully, that should keep it in a fit state to launch. It must be close. It should have a weak energy signature that the Tardis can trace. Once we find it, then we can stop the Isolus." We reached the open area close to the Tardis "We can scan for the same trace that I picked up from the scribble creature. We'd need to widen the field a bit."

I curled up on the jump seat, watching the Doctor building some gizmo that will help him find the pod. My mind was on Chloe and whether or not I should try to talk to her once we got rid of the Isolus.

"You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you," Rose spoke up after while "How?"

The Doctor barely glanced at her "I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own." He barely paused before continuing "Give me the styner-magnetic. The thing in your left hand."

The blonde handed it over "Sounds like you're on its side."

"I sympathise, that's all," the Time Lord mumbled.

"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people."

I shook my head in annoyance "From what I've heard it's a child."

"That's why it went to Chloe," the Doctor added "Two lonely mixed up kids."

"Yes, and I know what kids can be like," Rose shrugged "Right little terrors."

The Time Lord held his hand out "Gum."

Rose spat her gum into his hand and I grimaced "I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family."

"What about trying to understand them?" the Doctor asked.

"Or helping them understand when they do something wrong?" I finished.

Rose looked from the Doctor to me "Easy for you to say. You don't have kids. Either of you."

"I was a dad once," the Time Lord admitted quietly before focussing back on building the device.

I glanced at his back, totally unsurprised. He was so old, I really wasn't surprised that he had a family before. That and he told me about travelling with his granddaughter, Susan "I took care of the kids under my protection. Made sure that their families had what they needed."

"What did you say?" Rose blinked, staring at the Doctor in shock.

The Doctor used Rose's chewing gum to fix a component in place and then closed the lid on the glass globe containing the gizmo "I think we're there. Fear, loneliness. They're the big ones, Rose. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to conquer or destroy. There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors. You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold."

"Doctor," I spoke up, pointing at the scanner. There was something registering but I didn't quite get what.

"It's the pod," he exclaimed "It is in the street. Everything's coming up Doctor. Come on." He grabbed his gizmo and ran out of the Tardis, back to the street "Okay," he started "It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gull's egg. Very light."

Rose hummed "So these pods they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah? So it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need that?"

I inhaled and started coughing at the strong metal smell "Rose," I called at the same time as a crash sounded, the gizmo shattering on the ground.

"Doctor?" He was gone along with the Tardis.

Rose and I exchanged a look "Chloe," we chorused before taking off down the street. The blonde hammered on Trish's door until the woman opened. Without a word, Rose pushed past her, running upstairs.

"It's okay," Trish soothed "I've taken all the pencils off her."

I glanced over my shoulder "You didn't," I told her "The Doctor is gone." I reached the bedroom in time to see Rose snatch a drawing of the Doctor and the Tardis.

"Leave me alone," Chloe shouted, throwing the nearest object at Rose "I want to be with Chloe Webber. I love Chloe Webber."

Rose glared at the Isolus "Bring him back, now."

"No."

"Don't you realize what you've done?" the blonde questioned harshly "He was the only one who could help you. Now bring him back."

Chloe shook her head harshly "Leave me alone. I love Chloe Webber."

When Rose made to snap again, I sighed "A child, remember?" I knelt down next to the Isolus "Listen, I know that you love Chloe but you love your brothers and sisters too, right? And your mother? Think about how Chloe's mum feels like now that Chloe isn't here." I glanced up at Rose "Let's go and find that pod."

The blonde nodded and turned to Trish "Don't leave her alone, no matter what." We went back outside, leaving the woman to watch over her daughter.

"Heat," Rose mumbled, glancing around. Her eyes landed on Kel who was admiring his latest tarmac patch "They travel on heat."

As soon as we were close enough, the man pointed to his patch "Look at this finish. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Not a bump or a lump."

"Kel, was there anything in this street in the last few days giving off a lot of heat?" Rose asked.

"I mean, you can eat your dinner off this," the worker breathed in awe "So you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it when I gave it the same love and craftsmanship as I did this one."

I blinked "Er… Rose? Fresh Tarmac. Heat."

"Of course," the blonde groaned "Six days, Kel. Think back six days."

The worker hummed and gestured to the pothole in front of us "When I was laying this the first time around." Rose looked down before running off. I was about to ask what she was going to do when I saw her heading for the council van "Hey, that's a council van. Out."

"Ty," the blonde called out, chucking me a pickaxe from the back of the van.

"Woah, wait, wait, wait," Kel exclaimed "You just removed a council axe from a council van. Put it back. No, don't, wait. Put the axe back in the van." I spun the pickaxe around in my hand and carefully dropped it into the pothole. There was a chance of hitting the spaceship and I couldn't take that chance, so using my strength would not be the best idea "No. You, stop! You just removed a council axe from a council van and now you're digging up a council road. I'm reporting you to the council."

I dropped to my knees, searching through the loose tar "I got it," I called, holding the tiny spaceship in my hand.

Rose snatched it away from me "It went for the hottest thing in the street. Your tar."

"What is it?" Kel blinked.

"It's a spaceship," the blonde explained "Not a council spaceship, I'm afraid."

The two of us turned and ran back to the house, leaving Kel to stand in front of the rubble that was his formerly done pothole "We found it," Rose shouted as we saw Trish "I don't know what to do with it but maybe the Isolus will just hop on board. Hand on," she blinked, seeing the woman in the living room "I told you not to leave her."

" _My God,_ " the commentator gasped " _What's going on here?_ " I pushed past them, seeing that the crowds of the stadium along with all the athletes have vanished completely.

Kel entered behind us "I don't care if you've got Snow White and the Seven Dwarves buried under there, you don't go digging up…"

I grabbed his arm, pointing at the television "Look."

" _The crowd has vanished. Er, they're gone. Everyone has gone. Thousands of people have just gone,"_ the commentator stuttered " _Right in front of my eyes. It's impossible. Bob, can we join you in the box? Bob?"_ The picture cut to two empty chairs " _Not you too, Bob?_ "

"The stadium won't be enough," Rose remarked "The Isolus has four billion brothers and sisters…"

The four of us bolted up the stairs and over to Chloe's bedroom door, trying to open it "Chloe?" Trish called out.

"Chloe, it's Rose and Tyra," Rose shouted urgently "Open the door."

I took one look at the door and sighed "Sorry in advance, Trish," I mumbled before placing a hard kick to the lock part of the door. The chair crashed to the floor and the door opened easily "There. Problem one solved."

"We found your ship," the blonde spoke up, starting to walk in the direction of the girl. She froze though when the closet came back to life.

" _I'm coming to hurt you,_ " the voice of Chloe's dad taunted from inside " _I'm coming…_ "

By now, Chloe had the outline of the Earth on the wall and had started colouring it in "We've gotta stop her," Rose pointed in, starting forward. As soon as she did, the wardrobe rattled violently, the growling becoming louder.

"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out," the Isolus threatened "We will let him out together."

"Do you really think Chloe would want that?" I asked, looking around the room "She will never forgive you if you hurt her mother or set free the nightmare she is so scared of." My gaze stopped on the drawing of the Doctor who was currently moving around.

"Look, I've got your pod," Rose pointed out, holding up the small spaceship.

The Isolus barely glanced at it "The pod is dead."

"It only needs heat," the blonde shrugged.

"It needs more than heat," the Isolus huffed, not pausing in her painting.

Kel exhaled shakily "I'm not being funny or anything but that picture just moved. And that one."

" _Is still on its way,_ " the man on the television reported " _I suppose it's much more than a torch now, it's a beacon. It's a beacon of hope and fortitude and courage. And it's a beacon of love._ "

"Rose, get the pod to the torch. You heard it. Love… Maybe that will enough to get that pod going," I told her "I'll stay and make sure she doesn't finish that picture." When Rose hesitated, I snapped "Go."

As the blonde ran out of the house with Kel, I turned to the shaking closet and glanced at the Isolus. I just hoped that Rose would hurry up because I didn't dare to get closer than this. Chloe was afraid of the man and I would rather die a hundred times than to be the one responsible for letting him out. Picture or not.

Then suddenly, Chloe stopped. She had nearly finished colouring in the Earth when she froze, her eyes going wide "I can go home," the Isolus breathed happily "Goodbye, Chloe Webber. I love you."

The girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head as the tiny creature that was the Isolus floated out of her mouth. I flashed over, steadying the girl as she blinked lethargically for a moment "Mum?"

"I'm here," Trish smiled, tears in her eyes.

Chloe dropped her pencil, running into her mother's arms "Mummy."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," I spoke up carefully "But the drawing in there is still moving."

Trish's eyes went wide "What?"

"Come on," I grabbed their arms "Out. Now." I herded them down the stairs to the front door as quickly as possible when it slammed shut directly in front of us "Dammit."

"Trish," Rose called from outside "Get out."

I glanced over my shoulder "Rose, go look for the Doctor. I'll try and get this over with."

"You mean he's not in there?" the blonde frowned.

"No," I blinked "You know him. He's as bad at wandering off as we are. Now go."

" _Chloe,_ " the deep voice of the girl's father called out " _I'm coming to hurt you._ "

The little girl cowered against the door, whimpering "Please, dad. No more." I swallowed heavily, remembering another girl who cowered away from her father whenever he went after her.

" _Chloe._ "

I dropped to my knees in front of her, glancing at Trish who had her arms wrapped around her daughter tightly "Chloe, you have to listen to me, alright? Are you listening?"

"Help us," Trish breathed.

"I will," I nodded determinedly, reaching out to make Chloe look me in the eyes "I know you're scared and most children are scared of the monsters under their bed, right? Not you, though. You know what a real monster looks like and the fear that he inspires is overwhelming now. The pain is great and your fear is cruel but believe me when I say that all they are now are memories." I jabbed my finger over my shoulder "That thing up there is just a memory, Chloe."

Trish looked at me with panic in her eyes "How is that helping?"

"Just…" I broke off "Chloe, memories can bring you down. Hard… But they can also make you stronger. Even stronger than the people who hurt us. Bad memories can make us – they can give you the strength to become a superhero. Isn't that neat? You can be a superhero and beat the bad guy because let's face it, superheroes always beat the villain in the stories." The voice upstairs got somewhat quieter along with the banging and I let out a small breath, grabbing Chloe's hand "How about the three of us stop him together, hm?" I looked at Trish and held out my other hand to her "We just have to tell him 'No. No more, Mr Bad Guy. I'm not letting you hurt us anymore.' It's alright to be scared, Chloe and it may not feel like it now but one day you'll be able to look back and the monster will be gone." The light faded completely, as did the man's voice "You have a loving mother, kid. She would do anything for you and she will always be there. Now, I want you to promise me something. Can you do that?"

"Y – Yeah," Chloe nodded, her face set in determination.

I smiled at her "I want you to promise me that you will look after your mum just like she looks after you. To always be there for her, just as she will be there for you. Can you do that for me?"

"I promise," the girl nodded, looking over at her mother who had tears in her eyes "I promise, mum."

Trish let out a sob, pulling her daughter into a tight embrace "Oh, Chloe. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Now that it was all over, I exhaled shakily, leaning back against the wall of the corridor with my eyes closed for a moment. They snapped open again when small arms wound themselves around my neck "Thank you," Chloe whispered into my neck.

I climbed to my feet, hoisting the girl into my arms. It just looks somewhat funny since she wasn't that much smaller than me but she didn't weigh that much to me "You're welcome. I know how hard it is to forget something like this but you can start healing. Your father is gone."

"Yours isn't, is he?" Trish spoke up, smiling at the picture of us "He's still around?"

I took a deep breath and nodded "Somewhere. I haven't seen him in a while but… He has the bad habit of appearing whenever my siblings and I get too comfortable."

"Did your mother help you too?" Chloe asked.

"No," I mumbled "No, she never went against her husband. For me, the person I could rely on most was one of my older brothers. Everyone has a person who helps them through their memories, be it your mother, your siblings or even a friend. I found someone outside of my family who helps me be the person I want to be, not the person I was trying to be."

"The Doctor," Trish realized "He's the person, right?"

I nodded with a small grin "Yes." I glanced down at Chloe "Do you want to meet him? As you this time?"

"Can I?" the girl breathed, staring up at her mother with wide eyes "Please, mum?"

Trish laughed a little "Sure. Be careful outside, okay?"

"Want to walk?" I asked the girl I was still carrying as soon as we were outside.

Her arms tightened around my neck "No," she mumbled childishly, causing me to laugh lightly.

"Well, then," I grinned, making my way over to where Rose was standing with the Doctor "I see you survived. Where did you find him?"

Rose rolled her eyes lightly "He was carrying the torch."

I snorted "Seriously?"

"Yup," the Time Lord grinned "Now, why don't you introduce me to your limpet, Ty? Hello, Chloe. I'm not sure how much you remember but I'm the Doctor."

I prodded her in the side when she didn't look up "You wanted to meet him," I reminded her quietly, setting her to her feet.

"Hello," the girl smiled shyly, holding out her hand.

The Doctor took it with a grin and gave it a little squeeze "Do you want to come with us to look at the games, Chloe?"

"You're going?" I asked, even though I really shouldn't have been surprised. It was the reason we came after all. Chloe bit her lip, glancing over at her house "How about you ask your mother if she wants to come along too, hm?"

As soon as she was gone, I slumped a little, running a hand through my hair. The Doctor frowned down at me "Are you alright?"

"No," I muttered "No, I'm not. But I have to be."

Rose looked at the two of us, a hint of jealousy in her eyes "You know what? They keep on trying to split us up but they never will."

The Doctor looked away from me "Never say never ever."

"Nah," Rose shook her head "We'll always be okay. Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

"There's something in the air," the Time Lord pointed out, trepidation seeping into his voice "Something's coming."

The blonde tilted her head "What?"

"A storm's approaching."

"Ty," Chloe called out from behind me as I heard little footsteps running towards me. I turned around just in time to catch her.

Trish walked up to us, more slowly, keeping her eyes on her daughter. Without missing a beat, she pulled me into a hug "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I mumbled uncomfortably, shifting away from her. I focussed my attention on Chloe, telling her a story of when my siblings and I were little while Trish told the Doctor about what I did earlier. I didn't do it for the recognition, so I was more than a little uncomfortable when she told both the Doctor and Rose everything. While the Time Lord was aware of my past, Rose hadn't been. Not completely in any case and I had wanted it to stay that way.

A little while later, back in the Tardis, I immediately vanished into my room. The whole thing had sparked the memories that I had buried again after seeing Mikael back in 1952. It certainly seemed that whenever I had a chance at happiness, whenever something good happened to me, he appeared again. If it wasn't in person, it was the memories that resurfaced.

I curled up on my bed, back facing the door. A knock sounded but I didn't react, I just kept lying on my side, staring at the wall. Despite my lack of reaction, the door opened and quiet footsteps came closer "That was very brave what you did back there," the Doctor whispered, sitting down behind me "I know how hard it must have been for you. After what happened a few weeks ago." I turned my head to look at him quietly and he sighed, holding out his arms "Come here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys as excited as I am that Rose is almost gone? Cause it's only two Episodes left.
> 
> I'm thinking about taking a little break after I finish Series 2 but if you want me to just continue, I can do that too. It's all up to you guys. You'll just have to tell me.
> 
> Nick


	14. Army of Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys. From the comments on the other platform, I'm taking that you want me to just continue writing normally after Series 2 without taking a break. Then there's one more thing you should know. I am trying to write Universal Vampire and Doctor's Wolf simultaneously but that would mean that both stories have relatively long chapters... Means fewer updates. But I'll do my best either way.
> 
> Nick

I walked into the console room after finishing to get dressed. I had slept in the clothes from the day before and had been feeling somewhat gross when the Doctor left this morning.

"Don't you look… professional today," the Time Lord remarked with a teasing grin.

I rolled my eyes "Shut up," I huffed, looking down at my outfit. Since I had quite liked the suit I had worn a while back with Queen Victoria, I found myself something a little different. A white button-up with an open black waistcoat over it. To combat the sheer formality, I had put on a pair of somewhat ripped black skinny jeans and sneakers. All in all, I was really happy with my choice.

"It looks good though," the Doctor murmured quietly, turning back to the console.

"Thanks," I snorted "I think…"

It was then that Rose appeared with a huge, red rucksack that – even for me – looked heavy as hell "I'm ready."

"Alright then," the Doctor exclaimed, throwing the Tardis into motion. It had been decided earlier that we would go back to London to visit Jackie for a little while. I think it was also for my sake after what happened with Chloe. While he tried to hide it, the Doctor was slightly worried about how I was doing but I was alright. I had to be… It wasn't the first time I had to come back from having the memories stirred up several times already and while each time was as bad as the last, I would survive. I always did "Here we are. Powell Estate."

Rose grinned excitedly, stepping out of the Tardis with the bag now slung on her back. I followed the Doctor quietly, looking around the playground we had landed in "It's funny," I murmured, ignoring the Time Lord's look "How the whole world changed in… a few hundred years. Back then, we were playing with mud and stones and twigs."

"They still do that," the Doctor pointed out "It's just more now. Where is this coming from?"

I shrugged "Honestly, I have no idea. Just came to mind."

The Doctor nodded, slightly unconvinced and held out his hand "Come on, let's go and visit Jackie."

"I'm sure that what you're looking forward the most," I teased, grabbing his hand.

"Yeah," the Time Lord muttered, walking after Rose.

Inside, Rose practically ran up the stairs to her flat, a wide grin plastered on her face. She seemed really excited to go home. I wondered if I would ever be this excited to see my family again. I loved my siblings but recently… I didn't know what to think anymore. The Tardis was my home. The first home I had in a very long time. I shook my head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. What was wrong with me today?

"Mum, it's us," Rose shouted as we entered the flat "We're back."

"Oh, I don't know why you bother with that phone," Jackie cried out, hurrying over to us "You never use it."

The younger blonde rolled her eyes "Just shut up and come here." She pulled her mother into a tight hug as the Doctor smiled on.

"I love you so much," Jackie cried. I squeezed past them and was about to go to the living room when Jackie let go of Rose, turning her attention to the Doctor and me "Oh no, you don't." She grabbed the Time Lord "Come here." With that, she planted a big kiss on him despite his protests. I couldn't quite stop the grin from showing on my face when he tried to get the woman off him "Oh, you lovely big fella. Oh, you're all mine."

The Doctor shifted, his hands flailing around "Just… Just… Just put me down," he spoke, trying to speak over her.

"Yes, you are," Jackie continued, kissing him one more time before smiling at me "Tyra."

"Hello, Jackie," I smiled lightly, allowing her to pull me into a hug "It's good to see you again."

Jackie pressed a motherly kiss to my cheek "And you."

As soon as she was in the living room, I turned to the Doctor "That… Is how you handle her."

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled, wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand. I snorted, shaking my head at him "Tyra. Quiet."

"Sorry, sorry." I held up my hands in surrender, sliding past him to sit down on the couch in the living room.

Rose took off her backpack, handing it over to her mother "I've got loads of washing for you," she spoke up "And… I got you this." She pulled out a little ornate bottle, holding it out with a wide smile "It's from the market on this asteroid bazaar. It's made of um…"

"Bazoolium," the Doctor answered her unspoken question when the blonde look at him somewhat lost.

"Bazoolium," Rose nodded, turning back to her mother "When it gets cold – yeah – it means it's gonna rain and when it's hot, it's gonna be sunny. You can use it to tell the weather."

Jackie looked at the object for a second before she put down the pack "I've got a surprise for you and all."

"Oh, I get her bazoolium, she doesn't even say thanks," Rose muttered.

"Guess who's coming to visit," Jackie smiled "You're just in time. He'll be here at ten past. Who do you think it is?"

Rose tilted her head in confusion "I don't know."

"Oh, go on," her mother sighed in exasperation "Guess."

"No," Rose rolled her eyes "I hate guessing. Just tell me."

Jackie raised her eyebrow "It's your granddad," she told her daughter "Granddad Prentice. He's on his way any minute." She ignored Rose's confusion, turning to the kitchen "Right, cup of tea."

Rose was left in the living room with us, gaping "She's gone mad," the younger blonde breathed, stunned.

"Tell me something new," the Doctor shook his head. I reached over to hit him with a pillow, rolling my eyes at him. Couldn't he be nice for once? One time was all I'm asking.

"Granddad Prentice, that's her dad," Rose explained "But he died like, ten years ago. Oh, my God. She's lost it. Mum?" The other girl walked after her mother, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen "What you just said about granddad…"

Jackie turned around with a smile "Any second now."

"But he's passed away," the younger blonde frowned, sounding very concerned "His heart gave out. Do you remember that?"

Her mother sent her a deadpan look "Of course I do."

"Then… How can he come back?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" the older woman shook her head "Ten past. Here he comes." I flinched back when an ethereal humanoid shape walked through the outside wall, coming to a halt next to Jackie "Here we are, then. Dad, say hello to Rose. Ain't she grown?"

I looked at the Doctor with a blink, only to see him run out of the apartment. I turned my head to Rose before following him out and down the block of flats to where we caught sight of what was happening "They're everywhere," the Doctor remarked in confusion. They really were everywhere, standing around like ordinary people. I stepped closer to one of the things curiously. Had I not been aware of the Other Side and what happened in the afterlife, I might have actually believed that they really were ghosts.

Rose went to ask something when her eyes went wide in alarm "Look out." The Doctor spun around, right as a ghost walked through him. He squirmed uncomfortably, rubbing at his chest.

"They haven't got long," Jackie called out, joining us "Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade."

"What do you mean, shift?" the Doctor asked "Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?"

I stepped up next to him "I honestly don't know. I can tell you one thing though… They are not ghosts. Excuse me." With that, I pulled out my phone and dialled Sienna's number. I hadn't heard from the witch since that day with Sarah Jane but then again, it wasn't unusual. Since I was out of reach from my siblings – not that I really cared much anymore – we only contacted each other when one needs something "Hey, it's me."

" _I was wondering when you'd call,_ " Sienna replied, amusement in her voice " _You've seen them then?"_

"You think?" I asked, rolling my eyes at the Doctor. I followed the others back to the flat, still talking to my witch friend "What do you know?"

Sienna sighed " _Not much more than you, most likely. We know they aren't ghosts. The Other Side is still intact, so it's not them. And there had never been any indication that other ghosts exist. Even if they would… Do you really think they would look like that?_ "

"No," I muttered, running a hand through my hair "I don't think so. Hold on a second, Sienna."

My attention turned to the television that the Doctor had just switched on. It was a programme that was called Ghostwatch " _On today's Ghostwatch,_ " the Host started " _Claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge. It's almost like a military display._ "

"What the hell is going on?" the Doctor muttered to himself, changing the channel.

" _And tonight we're expecting very strong ghosts from London, through the North and up into Scotland,_ " a weatherman explained, gesturing to a map that had these Caspar the ghost things on it instead of the usual weather symbols.

Another channel, another programme about ghosts " _So basically, Eileen, what you're telling me is, that you're in love with a ghost…_ "

" _He's my ghost,_ " Eileen claimed " _And I love him twenty-four seven._ "

The Doctor changed the channel again and I snorted " _My ghost was pale and grey until I discovered Ectoshine…_ "

"Ectoshine," I repeated "What the hell? Has everyone gone crazy?"

Several international news channels later, the Time Lord gave up and turned to Jackie "It's all over the world."

" _Listen to me, Den Watts. I don't care if you have come back from the grave. Get out of my pub. The only spirits I'm serving in this place are gin, whisky and vodka. Do, you heard me. Get out._ " With that, the Doctor turned off the tv with a disgusted shake of his head.

I hummed "Actually… That was surprisingly well written," I mused before remembering that I had Sienna still on the line "Listen, S. I'll – I'll call you back if I know more."

"When did it start?" the Doctor questioned, sitting down on the sofa next to me.

Jackie scratched her cheek "Well, first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar, so she goes down…"

"No," the Time Lord cut in "I meant worldwide."

"Oh," the older blonde nodded "That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning and there they all were. Ghosts, everywhere. We all ran around screaming and that. Whole planet was panicking. No sign of you, thank you very much. Then it sort of sank in. It took us time to realize that we're lucky."

I tilted my head "Lucky? Lucky how?"

"And what makes you think it's granddad?" Rose added, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. There was something in her eyes… I shook myself internally and decided to focus on the matter at hand. The other girl had been acting a little weird after everything that happened during the London Olympics. Maybe my threats had finally sunken in but maybe she was just scheming another way to persuade me into turning her. I had to be completely honest here. If she was going to mention it, I might just tell Jackie. See what she has to say about Rose trying to throw her life away for a man who – if someone asked me – didn't even like her the way she liked him because there were definite signs that Rose was actually in love with the Doctor. She was constantly trying to hug him, hanging off of him. It was slightly amusing to see the Time Lord trying to shift out from underneath her or pleading silently to get rescued. I wasn't too sure why it bothered him so much but I would never ask. It was his choice of whether or not to tell me anything.

Jackie shrugged at Rose's question "It just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?"

"I wish I could, mum," the younger blonde sighed "But I can't."

"You've got to make an effort," her mother insisted "You've got to want it, sweetheart."

The Doctor's head tilted to the side "The more you want it, the stronger it gets."

"Sort of, yeah," Jackie nodded.

I groaned "Oh, this is bad already. Why can't we have a normal day for once? Is one time too much to ask?"

"Oi," the Doctor huffed, nudging me in the ribs "Don't knock it. You know you like it."

I was about to protest before I sighed in defeat "True. Although a day off would be nice once in a while."

"I love it," Rose disagreed, her expression dreamy "I love the adventure, the running… The different planets."

"I never said I didn't," I pointed out "But there is a lot of running involved. I guess I'm just…" I broke off, trying to think of what to say. Tired? Mentally exhausted? I didn't know what I was even trying to say. Avoidance has worked for me in the past – even avoiding Mikael but all good things came to an end sooner rather than later and this felt like one such end. I shoved the thoughts into the back of my mind. Mikael was gone and he would stay gone until some idiot stumbled across him… I had hopes that this wouldn't be anytime soon but with my luck, it could even be tomorrow "Never mind."

The Doctor placed a hand on my arm "Are you alright?"

I forced a smile onto my face "I'm fine. So… What do you think those ghosts are?"

"You mean they're not ghosts?" Rose asked "What are they then?"

Jackie looked at us in confusion "But they're human, right? You can see them. They look human."

"She's got a point," Rose shrugged "I mean, they're all sort of blurred but they're definitely people."

The Doctor grimaced, unsurely "Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot." He glanced at me and jerked his head to the door.

I followed him out curiously "So… Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No," the Time Lord muttered, leading me back to the Tardis "But I have a bad feeling about this."

"Not just you," I sighed "The friend I called earlier. She mentioned a few things that make it clear that the ghosts aren't actually ghosts."

The Doctor opened the door for me "What do you mean?"

I bit my lip in consideration "Have you heard of the Other Side?"

"I… I'm not sure," the Doctor gave back with a confused look "Why?"

"The Other Side is the place that holds every Supernatural being who died," I explained "As far as we know it's separated by a veil of some sort… The only ghosts that I'm sure that exists are the people trapped there. And my friend told me that the veil is still up."

The Doctor hummed "Are you absolutely sure about that?"

I nodded "Yes. It would be a disaster if the veil falls. Everyone would know about it early on. This is nothing I can explain."

"Okay. So we can cross out your side of the Supernatural," the Time Lord nodded, disappearing under the grilling "So… I think we need to go ghost hunting. What do you say?"

It was then that Rose strode into the Tardis, a newspaper in her hand "According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds." She looked around for the Doctor until I pointed to the side "Now don't tell me you're gonna sit back and do nothing."

The Doctor popped up from the grilling again, holding an odd looking device in one hand with a rucksack or something on his back "Who're you gonna call?" he asked in a bad imitation of Scooby Doo.

"Ghostbusters," Rose laughed.

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts," the Doctor mimicked the dog once more before winking at both Rose and me as he swaggered past us. I tried to wipe the grin from my face but I was sure that I failed miserably. The Doctor was a dork. There was no other way to describe him. A brilliant, stupid and oblivious dork. Outside, Jackie was waiting for us, already watching the Doctor nervously. The Time Lord had already put up the three metal cones linked by wires on the grass "When's the next shift?"

Jackie shifted "Quarter to," she said "But don't go causing trouble. What's that lot do?"

"Triangulates their point of origin," the Doctor explained.

Rose leaned forward "I don't suppose it's the Gelth?"

The Doctor looked up, shaking his head "Nah. They were just coming through one little rift. This lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper."

Jackie scoffed "You're always doing this. Reducing it to science. Why can't it be real? Just think of it, though. All the people we've lost. Our families coming back home. Don't you think it's beautiful?"

"I think it's horrific," the Doctor shot back "Tyra, tell her what you just told me. Rose, give us a hand."

I shot him an annoyed look but walked over to Jackie who glared at the Time Lord's back "Jackie. I know that he could have said it better but… I think he's right."

"But why?" the woman exclaimed "What would be so bad?"

"Think about it," I sighed "If the dead were coming back it wouldn't only be the good ones. Think… serial killers, abusive people and more. Sure, you would love to have your family back but…"

Jackie looked at me "But you wouldn't want yours to come back?"

I smiled grimly "Neither of my family is technically dead… My siblings are around but I think I actually forgave all of them a while ago. My father is alive and my mother is… It's complicated. Just know that there are a lot of people who aren't what they seem." I inhaled deeply "But what's worse is… Dying once is more than enough. Would you want them to come back and see what they left behind? I – I personally wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

"Maybe you're right," the woman sighed, looking at the Tardis "She changed, you know?"

I blinked "What?"

"Rose," Jackie clarified "She is becoming more like him every day."

"I think that's something you have to tell her," I pointed out.

The older blonde looked at me "But you're travelling with them. Can't you see it too?"

I closed my eyes for a moment "Jackie, Rose and I – We don't necessarily get along great. I wasn't going to say anything but… Yeah."

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.

I groaned, rubbing my hand down my face "I normally wouldn't tell you this. Not if she had left it alone but… Rose has been harassing me for a while to turn her into a vampire."

"What?" the woman exclaimed "Why would she do that?"

"I think you know," I said "She wants to stay with the Doctor forever. I explained everything to her. Everything but she doesn't seem to care about the bloodlust, the heightened emotions… The fact that she would not be able to control herself."

Jackie's eyes were wide, her hand on her mouth "I'll talk to her. Thank you for mentioning this, Tyra. Really."

"You're welcome," I whispered, wondering whether I did the right thing.

Just after Jackie walked into the Tardis, the Doctor ran out and over to the cones "What's the line doing?" he called over his shoulder.

"It's alright," Rose shouted back "It's holding."

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked, looking up from his construction.

I nodded a little "Yes. I think I might be. How long to go?"

"One minute," the Time Lord replied before glancing around, a grin blooming on his face "Here we go."

"The scanner's working," Rose called "It says delta one six."

The Doctor nodded to himself "Come on then, you beauty," he muttered. A ghost materialised exactly inside the field, writhing in discomfort "Don't like that much, do you? Who are you?" he asked, walking around the ghost "Where are you coming from? Whoa." He flinched back as the ghost tried to break out of the field "That's more like it. Not so friendly now, are you?"

"Holy…" I trailed off, staring at the raging figure in the field.

The Doctor stepped back, grabbing my hand "Come on." He tugged me to the Tardis, practically shoving me in "I said so," he proclaimed, getting the attention of Rose. I frowned, looking around for Jackie. I found her sitting on the grating that was higher up "Those ghosts have been forced into existence from one specific point and I can track down the source. Allons-y." The Doctor froze, the Tardis already in motion "I like that. Allons-y. I should say allons-y more often. Allons-y. Watch out, Tyra Mikaelson, Rose Tyler. Allons-y. And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso because then I could say, allons-y, Alonso, every time. You're staring at me." He looked at Rose in confusion.

"My mum's still on board," Rose grinned sheepishly, pointing to the older blonde on the grating.

"If we end up on Mars, I'm going to kill you," Jackie warned, seeing the Doctor's expression.

I snorted patting his shoulder "Two Tylers for the price of one." I looked down when I caught Rose's glare. I know it was low to bring her mother into this but it was her own fault. She could have done serious harm and if Damon had been different, he would have killed her without remorse. I wouldn't have allowed them anywhere near each other if I didn't trust Damon with my life. Maybe that was naive, but I had helped the younger vampire a lot and gotten him out of a bad situation. In some way, I think we were closer than he was with his own brother which was slightly sad.

My attention was drawn to the scanner when the shaking of the Tardis stopped. The Doctor pouted lightly "Oh well, there goes the advantage of surprise. Still, cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie."

"I'm not letting you go out there alone," I told him, still looking at the armed troops around the Tardis.

Rose huffed "I'm not looking after my mum."

"Well, you brought her," the Time Lord pointed out before turning to me "I don't want to…"

I cut him off "Well, tough. You can die. Me? Not so much. The chances that they know about me being a vampire are mediocre. But knowing the rest? Close to impossible."

"Fine," he sighed.

"Doctor, they've got guns," Rose spoke up worriedly.

The Doctor nodded "And I haven't. Well, I have Tyra but that doesn't count." I scoffed at him, causing him to grin "Which makes me the better person, don't you think? They can shoot me dead but the moral high ground is mine."

We stepped out of the Tardis and I made sure to stay slightly in front of the Doctor. I raised my eyebrow at a woman running towards us in high heels "Oh," she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up "Oh, how marvellous. Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day." She started clapping, causing the soldiers to join in.

I exchanged a puzzled glance with the Doctor who had lowered his arms by now "Er, thanks," he shifted uncomfortably, tugging me back a little "Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor."

"Oh, I should say." The woman practically swooned "Hurray."

"You – You've heard of me, then?" the Time Lord stuttered.

The woman stared at him with a deadpan expression "Well, of course, we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor, a Companion and the Tardis." There was more applause but it was slightly more scattered now.

"Sorry," I spoke up, drawing the attention to me "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Oh, plenty of time for that," the woman dismissed "But according to the records, there's three of you. The Doctor and his Companions. That's a pattern, isn't it, right?"

The Doctor looked at her with narrowed eyes before his mask was up again "Yes. Sorry. Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all." He reached behind him blindly, grabbing the first person he could "But here she is, Rose Tyler." I called upon every God I did or did not believe in, trying desperately not to burst out laughing when it was Jackie who was standing next to me now "Hmm," the Doctor caught himself "She's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that." I bit the inside of my cheek as he rambled on "And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and ages fifty-seven years. But she'll do."

I lowered my head in amusement, hiding my grin with my hair as Jackie turned to him with an insulted expression "I'm forty."

The Doctor patted her shoulder "Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well, I say not bad."

"Better than you in any case," I shot at him.

"Anyway," the Time Lord clapped, speaking over me "Lead on. Allons-y. But not too fast. Her ankle's going."

Jackie hit his arm "I'll show you where my ankle's going," she hissed, turning to glare at me "Don't you start."

I held up my hands in surrender "I didn't do anything."

"Don't think I didn't see you laugh," the older woman pointed at me threateningly.

"Sorry," I grinned, turning back to look forward.

The woman looked over her shoulder when we reached a big warehouse area "It was only a matter of time until you found us and at last you've made it. I'd like to welcome you, Doctor. Welcome to Torchwood." She gestured around to the massive area with tons of crates, jeeps and trucks running through. On the other side of the room was a flying saucer type spaceship being stripped apart.

"Hey, wasn't that estate called Torchwood?" I asked "Where you met Queen Victoria?"

The Doctor blinked "Ah. I tried to forget that one…"

"I bet you did," I laughed "She didn't like you very much."

"Something I'm sure you didn't have a problem with, Lady Mikaelson," the woman shot back.

The smile fell from my face as I stared at her "What are you trying to say?" I questioned warily.

"Queen Victoria had a lot of good things to say about you… What with being an old friend of the family and all that." The woman smirked knowingly "In case you're thinking about trying anything… Don't. We have stakes on standby and the guards are trained."

I scoffed out a laugh "I would like to see you try."

The Doctor nudged me "Don't. Just don't, Tyra."

"Yes, don't, Tyra," the woman repeated.

I shook my head at her "You should be more careful about who you threaten. I'm not scared of what you can do."

The woman frowned in confusion when I didn't seem bothered by the threat of a stake. She shook her head "So, Doctor. What do you make of this?"

"That's – That's a Jathar Sunglider," the Time Lord gaped.

"Came down to Earth off the Shetland Islands ten years ago," she explained.

The Doctor tilted his head, studying the glider intently "What, did it crash?"

"No, we shot it down," the woman smirked "It violated our airspace. Then we stripped it bare. The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us. Now, if you'd come with me. The Torchwood Institute has a motto. If it's alien, it's ours. Anything that comes from the sky, we strip it down and we use if for the good of the British Empire."

Jackie's head shot around "For the good of what?"

"The British Empire," the woman repeated with a fake smile.

"There isn't a British Empire," Rose's mother pointed out.

The woman crossed her eyes smugly "Not yet. Ah, excuse me. Now, if you wouldn't mind." A soldier handed her a very big gun "Do you recognize it, Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced at it "That's a particle gun."

"Good, isn't it?" the woman bragged "Took us eight years to get it to work."

"It's the twenty-first century. You can't have particle guns," the Doctor exclaimed.

The woman sighed "We must defend our border against the alien. Thank you, Sebastian, isn't it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the soldier nodded.

"Thank you, Sebastian. I think it's very important to know everyone by name," she rambled "Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills. That's what it's all about these days. I'm a people person."

The Doctor hummed "Have you got anyone called Alonso?"

"No," the woman frowned "I don't think so. Is that important?"

The Time Lord sighed in disappointment "No, I suppose not. What was your name?"

"Yvonne," the woman replied "Yvonne Hartman." The Doctor picked up a black plastic step-stool thing with a handle on top. He studied it intently before holding it out to me. I took it with a slightly puzzled frown "Ah, yes. Now, we're rather fond of these. The Magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels the mass. I could use it to lift two tonnes of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric."

Jackie reached out to touch the clamp "I could do with that to carry the shopping."

Yvonne took the device from me "All these devices are for Torchwood's benefit, not the general public's."

"So, what about these ghosts?" the Doctor asked quickly before Jackie could say anything else.

"Ah, yes," Hartman nodded "The Ghosts… They're what you might call a side effect."

I looked at her weirdly "Of what?"

"All in good time," she dismissed me… again "Doctor, there is an itinerary, trust me."

The Tardis was driven past us on the back of a trunk "Oi. Where are you taking that?" Jackie demanded.

"If it's alien, it's ours," the other woman quoted herself.

"You'll never get inside," the Doctor pointed out, a somewhat pleased look on his face.

Yvonne rolled her eyes and turned away from us "Hmm. Et cetera." I saw Rose peek out of the Tardis and the Doctor giving her a small nod from the corner of my eye.

"All those times I've been on Earth, I've never heard of you," the Doctor remarked as he followed Yvonne down another corridor.

"But of course not," the woman exclaimed "You're the enemy. You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown."

I coughed "As I said. It really seemed like she didn't like you."

"Her Majesty created the Torchwood Institute," Yvonne explained "With the express intention of keeping Britain great and fighting the alien horde."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow "But if I'm the enemy… Does that mean that I'm a prisoner?"

"Oh, yes," Yvonne nodded, pleased that he figured it out "And not just you. But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. There is also a lot we still need to figure out about your kind." She pointed to me before holding her ID against a scanner "But for now… Doctor, you can start with this. What do you make of this?" We followed her into the room, my gaze immediately drawn to a large – and I mean large – sphere hovering above a platform in the back of the room. The Doctor's mouth dropped a little.

"You must be the Doctor," an Indian man said, obviously in charge whatever the sphere was "Rajesh Singh. It's an honour, sir." He held out his hand for the Time Lord but lowered it sheepishly when the Doctor ignored it in favour of staring at the sphere.

Jackie sent it a fearful look "What is that thing?" she whispered.

"We got no idea," Yvonne shrugged.

"But… what's wrong with it?" Jackie questioned.

Rajesh smiled "What makes you think there's something wrong with it?"

"I have a feeling you already know," I muttered, continuing to watch the Doctor. He had darted forward and up some small steps that led to the platform, to look at the sphere more closely.

Yvonne sighed "Well, the sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you wanna run and hide. Like it's forbidden."

"We tried analysing it using every device imaginable," Rajesh started as the Doctor put on some 3D specs "But, according to our instruments, the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing. It doesn't age. No heat, no radiation and it has no atomic mass."

"But I can see it," Jackie argued.

The Doctor gestured for me to come over to him, handing me his specs "What do you see?"

I looked up at the sphere, trying not to feel too stupid wearing those 3D glasses "What is that? There's some sort of… stuff?" I turned to look at him "Wait… It's on you too?"

"Well, Doctor?" Yvonne prompted.

"This is a Void Ship," the Time Lord pointed out.

Yvonne tilted his head "And what's that?"

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "It's impossible for starters. I always thought it was just a theory but it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space, travelling through the Void." He turned away from the sphere, sitting down at the bottom of the stairs with his back to the Void Ship.

"And what's the Void?" Rajesh asked.

"The space between dimensions," he explained "There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions, billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in between, containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that. Nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down, no life, no time. Without end. My people called it the Void. The Eternals call it the Howling but… some people call it Hell."

Rajesh gulped nervously "But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?"

"To explore?" the Doctor shrugged "To escape? You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang, end of the Universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You exist outside of creation."

Yvonne's face lit up "You see, we were right. There's something inside it."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor sighed.

"So how do we get in there?" Rajesh questioned.

The Time Lord's face darkened as he took back his 3D specs from me, tugging me away from the thing. I was slightly lost and just went along with it. Whatever was in there – The Doctor didn't want it out and that's all that mattered "We don't," he snapped "We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?"

"Well, that's how it all started," Yvonne pointed out "The sphere came through into this world and the ghosts followed in its wake."

The Doctor nodded, walking out with my hand still in his "Show me."

"No, Doctor," Yvonne called out after us, causing the Doctor to whirl around, walking in the other direction.

The guards herded us into an elevator, pressing the button for the very top. Yvonne lead us into a large white room, pointing us over to the far wall "The sphere came through here," she explained as the Doctor reached out to touch the wall, feeling along it "A hole in the world. Not active at the moment but when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up."

"How did you even find it?" the Doctor asked.

Yvonne turned around, surveying the room "Well, we were getting warning signs for years. A radar black spot. So we built this place, Torchwood Tower. The breach was six hundred feet above sea level. It was the only way to reach it."

The Doctor pulled on his 3D specs again "You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance? How much money have you got?"

"Enough," the woman smirked, walking away.

"Hold on a minute," Jackie exclaimed from the window behind me "We're in Canary Wharf. Must be. This building, it's Canary Wharf."

I furrowed my eyebrow "Is that the building that looks like a huge pencil or am I confusing that with the… No, wait. That has another name…"

The Doctor shot me an amused look "A huge pencil?" he mocked me.

"Excuse me, for not spending too much time in London. I don't like the city that much," I muttered, my hands raised in surrender.

"You must hate travelling with me then," he snorted "We end up in London a lot."

I shrugged "London before the 90s is alright. But I prefer the English countryside."

"If you're done," Hartman spoke up "Canary Wharf is the public name for it. But to those in the know, it's Torchwood."

"So, you find the breach, probe it, the sphere comes through," the Time Lord started, pacing up and down "Six hundred feet above London, bam. It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think – Oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe? Nah, you think let's make it bigger."

Yvonne huffed in annoyance "It's a massive source of energy," the woman pointed out "If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift is in two minutes." With that, she walked out of her office.

"Cancel it," the Doctor demanded.

The woman let out a laugh "I don't think so."

"I'm warning you," he stated dangerously "Cancel it."

Yvonne shook her head "Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the Rights of Man."

"Are you stupid?" I asked "If this was harmless, he most likely wouldn't have said anything in the first place."

The Doctor shook his head at me, telling me to stay silent with a quick look before pulling out his sonic "Let me show you. Sphere comes through." He pointed the screwdriver at her glass wall, causing it to crack "But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the Void and into yours, with the human race hoping and wishing and helping them along. But too many ghosts and…" He tapped the glass, shattering it completely.

Hartman swallowed, putting her game face on "Well, in that case, we'll have to be more careful. Positions. Ghost Shift in one minute."

"Miss Hartman," the Doctor started seriously "I am asking you, please don't do it."

"We have done this a thousand times," the woman waved his concerns off.

The Time Lord took a deep breath "Then stop at a thousand."

"We're in control of the ghosts," Hartman shook her head "The levers can open the breach but equally they can close it."

"Okay," the Doctor shrugged, going back into the woman's office to grab a chair for himself.

Yvonne stopped, turning to look at him, flabbergasted "Sorry?"

The Doctor waved his hand, pulling me to sit down on the edge of the chair "Never mind. As you were."

"What is that it?"

"No, fair enough," the Doctor smiled sweetly "Said my bit. Don't mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea?"

A dark-skinned woman from one of the desks spoke up "Ghost Shift in twenty seconds."

Yvonne looked at the Doctor, an uneasy smile on her face. Now that he wasn't arguing anymore, it was obvious that she wasn't sure how to handle him anymore "You can't stop us, Doctor."

"No, absolutely not." He leaned his head back to look at Jackie "Pull up a chair, Rose. Come and watch the fireworks." Jackie smirked at Yvonne, coming to stand behind the chair the Doctor and I were perched on, her hand resting on my shoulder.

The same woman from before spoke up "Ghost Shift in ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two…"

Yvonne broke the staring match she had been having with the Doctor and whirled around "Stop the shift. I said stop."

"Thank you," the Doctor inclined his head.

"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the programme will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything." Hartman tried to compose herself.

The Time Lord got up "I'm glad to be of help."

"And someone clear up this glass," Yvonne called out "They did warn me, Doctor. They said you like to make a mess." She stepped over the glass and into her office through the new door "So, these ghosts..."

"Really?" I spoke up "How thick are you? They aren't ghosts..."

Yvonne shot me a slight glare "Fine. Those ghosts or whatever they are, did they build the sphere?"

The Doctor shrugged, pushing the chair back into the office, sitting back down across from the woman "Must have. Aimed it at this dimension like a cannonball."

" _Yvonne?_ " Rajesh called out over the computer " _I think you should see this. We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor._ "

"She one of yours?" Yvonne asked, turning the laptop to face the Doctor.

The Time Lord looked at Rose on the screen, no emotion on his face "Never seen her before in my life."

"Good," Hartman sneered "Then we can have her shot."

"Oh, alright," the Doctor groaned "It was worth a try. That's – That's Rose Tyler."

I had been slightly distracted by the events going on in front of me and when I heard a muffled noise behind me, I whirled around. A guard had snuck up behind us with a stake in his hand. As soon as I had started turning around, he thrust the wood into my heart. From next to me I heard a shrill scream and I slowly fell to my knees before everything went black.

**Third Person PoV**

The Doctor whirled around on his chair, in time to see Tyra desiccating "What have you done?" he demanded, glaring at Yvonne "What gave you the impression that this would be a good idea?"

Jackie had knelt down next to the fallen vampire and glanced up at the Doctor with tears in her eyes "Is – Is she dead, Doctor? Did they kill her?"

"She was a vampire," Hartman pointed out "And as such she was dangerous. We simply got rid of a threat against the Empire."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, having a very good idea of how Tyra was going to react as soon as she woke up "That's not what I meant. Tyra is going to be pissed when she wakes up and I'm not sure whether I really want to stop her."

The smile slowly fell from Yvonne's face as she realized that the man in front of her was serious "But she's a vampire."

"Well, seems like you're not as smart as you think," the Doctor shot back darkly.

Hartman shifted slightly, trying not to show the uneasiness she was feeling "Hold on. You said… You said that was Rose Tyler." She pointed to the screen "If that's Rose Tyler, who's she?"

"I'm her mother," Jackie huffed, carding her hand through Tyra's hair. The young girl had become just as important to her as the Doctor. It still astounded the older woman how someone could treat Tyra wrong. Especially if what the vampire had told Jackie about her parents was true and a part of her didn't doubt the girl's words. There was one part – the mother in her – who couldn't believe that any parent would be able to mistreat their children but then… She knew that there were bad people in the world and Tyra seemed to have gotten lucky and found two of them.

Yvonne raised her eyebrow "Oh, you travel with her mother?"

"Please," the Doctor pleaded, forgetting the situation for a moment "When Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother."

Jackie glared up at him, though there was amusement in her eyes. She knew what he thought of her but then again… She didn't care because, despite his behaviour, he cared for her and her daughter "Charming," she muttered.

The Doctor shrugged apologetically "I've got a reputation to uphold."

Yvonne's head turned towards the rising commotion outside of her office and frowned "Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift." She looked at everyone there "Who started the programme? I ordered you to stop. Who's doing that?" The levers kept moving into an upright position "Right, step away from the monitors, everyone." Three of her employees ignored her completely, focussed on the monitors in front of them "Gareth, Addy, stop what you're doing, right now. Matt, step away from your desk. That's an order. Stop the levers. Andrew!" A scientist grabbed hold of one of the levers, trying to pull it back down without any luck "Stop the levers."

"What's she doing?" the Doctor frowned, looking over Addy's shoulder.

Yvonne stepped up next to him "Addy, step away from the desk. Listen to me. Step away from the desk."

"She can't hear you," the Time Lord muttered, studying the earpieces. They reminded him of something "They're overriding the system. We're going into Ghost Shift." He continued to look at the earpiece before his eyes widened "It's the earpiece. It's controlling them. I've seen this before. Sorry. I'm so sorry." He zapped the woman's earpiece, causing her and the two men to scream before the three of them collapsed.

Hartman gasped in shock "They're dead."

"You killed them," Jackie breathed hysterically. She had come out of the office with the other two, keeping an eye on Tyra. The girl was still dead and Jackie wasn't sure whether she could trust the Doctor to tell the truth about her waking up… Oh, who was she kidding? Had Tyra really been dead, the Time Lord wouldn't have been this calm.

"Oh, someone else did that long before I got here," the Doctor replied, running a hand through his hair.

Jackie shook her head "But you killed them."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the woman "Jackie, I haven't got time for this."

"What are those earpieces?" Yvonne asked, reaching out for Addy's Comms device.

"Don't," the Time Lord snapped.

"But they're standard Comms devices. How does it control them?" she questioned in confusion. This didn't make sense. How could the Comms have been controlling them? Nothing indicated that this should have been possible.

The Doctor looked over at her, a hard expression on his face "Trust me, leave them alone."

"But what are they?" Hartman demanded, pulling at the earpiece. She almost dropped it again when a rope of grey matter came out with it "Urgh. Oh, God… It goes inside their brains."

"What about the Ghost Shift?" the Time Lord asked.

Torchwood One's direction looked at the monitor and shook her head "Ninety percent there and still running. Can't you stop it?"

"They're still controlling it," the Doctor pointed out "They've hi-jacked the system."

"Who's they?"

The Time Lord glanced over his shoulder at the vampire and relaxed a little when he saw the grey veins fading. It would take another few minutes for Tyra to wake up but she was going to be fine – pissed… but ultimately fine "It might be a remote transmitter," he explained "But it's got to be close by. I can trace it. Jackie, stay here." He stopped before he ran out and walked over to Rose's mother "Calm Tyra down when she wakes up and stay close to her. Tell her that I said to make sure that she is ready if anything happens."

Jackie nodded, still scared "But Doctor, what's going on?"

"Not now. I'll explain everything later," he murmured "But now I have to find that transmitter. Stay here."

"Keep the levers down," Yvonne shouted over her shoulder at the scientists "Keep them offline."

**Tyra PoV**

I came to slowly, blinking my eyes open against the light "Urgh," I huffed. I hated dying…

"Tyra?" a voice came from my left. I turned my head to see Jackie kneeling next to me "Oh, thank God. You're alright. I was so scared."

I hissed when it all came back. How one of those guards had rammed a stake through my heart and killed me… temporarily. Speaking of stake. My hand went to the piece of wood that was still stuck in my chest and pulled at it, trying to dislodge it "I hate this part," I muttered quietly.

Jackie reached out hesitatingly "Do you want me to…?"

"No," I smiled – grimaced "It's fine." I pulled the wood out of my body and threw it to the side "See? As good as new."

"That is…" the blonde broke off, shaking her head "Are you alright?"

I grabbed her hands in mind gently "Jackie, I'm fine. It happened before. Might not be the best feeling in the world but I'm alive. Well… As alive as I was before." I looked around, seeing several scientists practically hanging off of the levers by the far wall "What's going on? I feel like I missed something."

"There was this… I don't know. Thing inside people's brains," Jackie explained, waving her hands around "The Doctor said that it was controlling people and… they started a shift." She shrugged "I don't know what's going on… But he said to be ready in case something happens."

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose "Okay… So something was controlling someone, making them start a Ghost Shift," I repeated, trying to understand what was happening "How? Do you know?"

"This thing." Jackie pointed to the ground where one of those earpieces was lying. Only… It didn't look like a normal earpiece.

I frowned, studying the device while keeping my hands as far away from that thing as possible "Alright. It looks familiar… But – I don't know." We were silent for a few minutes before I heard something coming down the corridor. Footsteps. Very heavy footsteps that I only heard once before. In the parallel world… Of course. I glanced back at the device on the floor and up at Jackie "Stay behind me," I muttered, making sure to stay just in front of the woman, my eyes fixed on the door.

"Get away from the machines," the Doctor shouted as he was escorted into the room by a group of Cybermen "Do what they say. Don't fight back." Just as he said that the Cybermen activated their arm guns, shooting the scientists who were holding the levers.

Jackie grabbed onto my arm tightly "What are they?" she whispered.

"We are the Cybermen," one of them spoke up, turning to the levers "The Ghost Shift will be increased to one hundred percent."

The levers moved into an upright position " _Online,"_ the computer intoned.

"Here come the ghosts," the Doctor muttered grimly, staring at the wall.

I walked up next to him and tilted my head "How is this possible? They shouldn't have been able to come through… Should they?"

Yvonne's head snapped around in shock "How… What…? How are you alive?" she stuttered.

I scoffed "Like I would tell you anything. Be grateful that the world is ending… again otherwise I wouldn't be this nice about you killing me."

"Tyra, calm down," the Doctor sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I am calm. If I weren't I would be killing people right now," I snapped back, obviously not calm before I took a deep breath "Sorry. But I hate dying. It hurts and now we have to deal with this again…" I looked down at myself and the bloody hole that now decorated my white shirt "And I liked that shirt."

The Time Lord raised his eyebrow "I'm sure the Tardis will get you a new one."

"Hmpf," I huffed, crossing my arms.

Jackie looked from the Cybermen to the bright light "But these Cybermen, what've they got to do with the ghosts?"

"Do you never listen?" the Doctor demanded "A footprint doesn't look like a boot."

The Cyberleader turned quickly "Achieving full transfer."

"They're Cybermen," the Time Lord breathed, staring at the wall in shock "All the ghosts are Cybermen. Millions of them, right across the world." By now, the ghosts had solidified, forming up into military position.

Yvonne trembled "They're invading the whole planet."

"I don't think this would count as an invasion anymore," I pointed out "No one will be able to fight. This is more like a victory."

All of a sudden, the computer started repeating a phrase that made all of us stare at the screen " _Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated._ "

"But I don't understand," the Doctor spoke up after watching the chaos unfold for a few moments "The Cybermen don't have the technology to build a Void Ship. That's way beyond you. How did you create that sphere?"

The Cyberman looked down "The sphere is not ours."

"What?"

"The sphere broke down the barriers between worlds," the metal man explained "We only followed. Its origin is unknown."

The Doctor's eyes were locked onto the monitor again, blinking at the picture of the sphere "Then what's inside it?"

"Rose is down there," Jackie whispered urgently.

I turned to her "Calm down, Jackie. Rose will be alright, you know? She can help herself." I didn't add the 'most of the time' I was going to add since this definitely wasn't the right moment to throw shade. Rose did know what she was doing for the most part – no more and no less than me. As long as no one expected us to be the Doctor, we could manage by now.


	15. Doomsday

_Last chapter…_

_"Rose is down there," Jackie whispered urgently._

_I turned to her "Calm down, Jackie. Rose will be alright, you know? She can help herself." I didn't add the 'most of the time' I was going to add since this definitely wasn't the right moment to throw shade. Rose did know what she was doing for the most part – no more and no less than me. As long as no one expected us to be the Doctor, we could manage by now._

Now…

"No," Jackie glared at me lightly, causing me to back off "What's down there? She was in that room with the sphere. What's happened to Rose?"

The Doctor turned to her, grabbing her shoulders gently "I don't know. I'll find her. I brought all of you here, I'll get you out, you and your daughter and Tyra. Jackie, look at me. Look at me. I promise you. I give you my word."

A Cyberman approached us, heading straight for Yvonne "You will talk to your central world authority and order global surrender," the Cyberleader ordered.

Yvonne scoffed "Oh, do some research. We haven't got a central world authority."

"You have now," the Cyberman pointed out "I will speak on all global wavelengths. This broadcast is for human kind." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the Doctor putting on his 3D glasses again "Cybermen now occupy every land mass on this planet but you need no fear. Cybermen will remove fear. Cybermen will remove sex and class and colour and creed. You will become identical. You will become like us." There was mass panic in the streets and Cybermen were getting attacked left and right, killing people as London burned outside of the tower. The Cyberleader looked at us "I ordered surrender."

The Doctor snorted "They're not taking instructions. Don't you understand? You're on every street, you're in their homes, you've got their children. Of course, they're going to fight."

Suddenly, the Cyberleader straightened up "Scans detect unknown technology active within sphere chamber." The Doctor looked up in concern, reaching out for me unconsciously.

"Cybermen will investigate," one of the others commanded.

"Units ten six five and ten six six will investigate sphere chamber," the Cyberleader pointed out.

Two of the Cybermen around nodded "We obey." They left, walking out of the room.

The Cyberleader turned to the desk in front of him "Units will open visual link." A Cyberman's view came up on Yvonne's laptop "Visual contact established."

"Well, damn," I breathed as a Dalek hovered into view on the screen "How is that possible, Doctor?"

"I –" he broke off, shaking his head. He swallowed a few times, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat "I don't know."

The Dalek on the screen stopped " _Identify yourselves._ "

" _You will identify first,_ " the Cyberman retorted.

" _State your identity,_ " the Dalek practically shouted.

The Cybermen stayed strong " _You will identify first._ "

" _Identify._ "

"… _illogical,_ " the Cyberman huffed " _You will modify._ "

" _Daleks do not take orders,_ " the Dalek hissed.

The Cyberman on screen seemed almost smug " _You have identified as Daleks._ "

" _Outline resembles the inferior species known as Cybermen,_ " another Dalek's voice echoed through the speakers.

"Rose said about the Daleks," Jackie whispered, her voice shaking in fear "She was terrified of them. What have they done to her, Doctor? Is she dead?"

The Doctor whirled to face her, holding out his hand to me "Phone."

"What?" I blinked, looking away from the screen.

"Give me your phone," the Time Lord repeated. I shrugged, handing it over, making sure it was unlocked for him.

" _We followed in the wake of your sphere,_ " the Cyberman explained on the screen.

The Doctor dialled Rose's number, holding the phone to his ear "She answered," he exclaimed "She's alive… Why haven't they killed her?"

"Well, don't complain," Jackie rolled her eyes.

"Maybe they need her for something?" I spoke up carefully "I mean… She does know about Daleks and I doubt many people on this planet would."

" _We must protect the Genesis Ark,_ " I heard a Dalek shout on the other end of the line.

The Time Lord frowned "The Genesis Ark?"

"Do you know what that is?" I asked, leaning closer to him.

He shook his head with a puzzled expression "I have no idea."

" _Our species are similar,_ " the Cyberman on the screen remarked " _Though your design is inelegant._ "

The Dalek moved its eyestalk " _Daleks have no concept of elegance._ "

" _This is obvious,_ " the Cyberman pointed out, causing me to smirk. No matter how dangerous the situation was… I sort of lived for those two species bashing each other. Especially since neither of them actually had emotions " _But consider, our technologies are compatible._ " The Doctor's face showed his apprehension at the though alone. But I could understand him. I only met the species once or twice each but I could see that Earth was screwed if they teamed up " _Cybermen plus Daleks. Together we could upgrade the Universe._ "

" _You propose an alliance?"_ the Dalek asked.

The Cyberman inclined his head " _This is correct._ "

" _Request denied,_ " the Dalek shouted.

The Cybermen readied their weapons " _Hostile elements will be deleted._ " They shot at the Dalek who just seemed to be slightly amused by the display. Whether that was possible or not… It just stayed there, letting them shoot at the shield around its body.

" _Exterminate,_ " the Dalek cried out, killing both Cybermen within a second.

The Cyberleader turned to his subordinates "Open visual link," he snapped before looking at the Daleks on the laptop screen "Daleks, be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen."

" _This is not war,_ " a black Dalek pointed out " _This is pest control._ "

"We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?"

The black Dalek didn't even pause "Four."

The Cyberleader angled his body towards the screen more "You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?"

" _We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek,"_ the Dalek scoffed " _You are superior in only one respect._ "

"What's that?" the Cyberleader humoured him.

" _You are better at dying."_ The black Dalek swung its eyestalk around _"Raise communications barrier._ "

The Doctor cursed under his breath, looking down at the phone "Lost her."

The Cyberleader whirled around "Quarantine the sphere chamber. Start emergency upgrading. Begin with these personnel." He gestured to the people in the room and us as well.

"No, you can't do this," Yvonne shrieked right next to my ear, causing me to flinch away from her.

The Cyberman behind the Doctor spoke up "These two. Their increased adrenaline suggests that they have vital Dalek information."

"Stop them," Jackie cried out "I don't want to go. You promised me. You gave me your word." I looked from the Cybermen, to Jackie and to the Doctor, trying to think of what to do. Maybe I could try to get Jackie away from them…

"I demand you leave that woman alone," the Doctor hissed "I won't help you if you hurt her. Jackie, don't fight. I'll think of something."

I tugged at his sleeve "I can get her somewhere safe?"

"Tyra, no," the Time Lord shook his head, keeping an eye on the Cybermen who – while looking at us – didn't seem to care about our conversation at all "I don't want you to put yourself in danger more than you already have."

"But I can help her," I argued quietly "I'm pretty sure I'm fast than them."

The Doctor glared at the Cyberleader who was standing in front of us before he transferred his glare to me "No. What do you think happens if you get caught and they upgrade you, huh? I doubt you can come back from that, Tyra. You'll stay with me and that's it. Jackie is smart."

"She barely knows what Cybermen are," I argued, crossing my arms "Do you really think she's going to survive this? What are you going to tell Rose?"

"No," the Time Lord snapped, grabbing my shoulders harshly "I'm not losing you, alright? Please, Tyra."

I stared into his eyes, breathing harshly "I'm not happy about this."

"I know," he sighed "I'm not either. But I want you safe."

"Okay," I nodded "Okay…"

The Cyberleader cut off the rest of our conversation "You are proof," he said.

"Of what?" the Time Lord narrowed his eyes.

"That emotions destroy you," the Cyberleader pointed out.

The Doctor crossed his arms "Yeah, I am. Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion, don't you think, Tyra?"

"Sure, I guess," I shrugged, having absolutely no idea what he was on about.

"And here it comes." A group of black-clad commandoes pop into existence from out of nowhere and take out the remaining Cybermen in the lever room. The Cyberleader stomped out of the office, getting zapped immediately.

Two of the black-clad people walked over "Doctor?" one of them said and I recognized Jake's voice "Good to see you again." He removed his mask, showing his face to the Doctor.

"Jake?" the Time Lord blinked.

The young man shrugged "The Cybermen came through from one world to another and so did we."

He turned around as the others took off their masks as well and I gaped "Henrik?" I asked, my voice faint.

"Nice to see you again, Tyra," the youngest parallel Mikaelson smiled, holding out his arms "Don't I get a hug?" I looked up at the Doctor unsurely but when he shrugged, I sighed and wrapped my arms around Henrik's waist. I had missed him but… This wasn't necessarily the best day for me to see him again. Not after thinking about the past all the time already. The only good thing about his stupid fight between Daleks and Cybermen was that I could focus on something beside my memories.

Jake pointed to some of the others "Defend this room. Chrissie, monitor communications. Kill one Cyberleader and they just download into another. Move." With his words, the commandoes ran off immediately.

"You can't just… just… just hop from one world into the other," the Doctor stuttered, his 3D specs on his nose again "You can't."

"We just did," Henrik pointed out, one of his arms still wrapped around my shoulders.

Jake held up a large yellow medallion that I could see around Henrik's neck as well "With these." He threw one to the Doctor.

"But that's impossible," the Doctor shook his head "You can't have this sort of technology."

"We've got out own version of Torchwood," the blond man explained, glancing at me "They developed it. Do you want to come and see?" He pressed the button at the same time as Henrik pressed the one around his neck.

The Doctor snapped "No," a split second too late.

I blinked against the dots that had invaded my vision to see an absolute wreck "What the…?"

"Parallel Earth," Jake proclaimed, holding out his arms "Parallel Torchwood. Except we found out what the Institute was doing and the People's Republic took control."

"I've got to get back," the Doctor exclaimed, not even acknowledging what Jake said "We've got to get back." He gestured to me "Rose is in danger and her mother."

Pete stepped out of the shadows flanked by parallel Kol and Ricky "That'd be Jackie," the red-haired man pointed out "My wife in a parallel universe. And as for you, Doctor, Tyra… At least this time I know who you are."

"Right, yes, fine, hooray," the Time Lord deadpanned "But I've got to get back, right now."

"No," Pete snapped at the Doctor "You're not in charge here. This is our world, not yours. And you're going to listen for once."

Ricky walked over to me with a small grin. The only reason I knew it wasn't Mickey was because I was familiar with Mickey's scent. It was a little different than Ricky's "Hi."

"Hey," I smiled "Sorry about him…" I muttered, gesturing at the glaring Time Lord. Then I realized that someone was missing "Where's Mickey?

"Mickey went ahead and don't worry about him," Jake waved off, giving us his attention while Pete and the Doctor were still having a staring match "How have you been?"

I shrugged "Alright, I guess."

"Liar," Kol pointed out "You might not be my actual sister but you're still a Mikaelson. What's up?"

"Nothing, Kol," I sighed. The last thing I wanted was to have to tell them about Mikael. I mean, there was a possibility that they grew up the same was I did but I really didn't want to know. If I didn't know, I could kid myself into believing that they had a good childhood. Considering that Freya was still alive over here was a good sign. I believe that was what made Mikael become… Well, himself. That along with finding out about Esther being unfaithful.

My parallel brother was about to open his mouth when Pete spoke up again "When you left this world, you warned us there's be more Cybermen. So we sealed them inside the factories."

"Except people argued," Jake jumped in "Said they were living. We should help them."

"And the debate went on," Pete took over again, crossing his arms "But all that time, the Cybermen made plans. Infiltrated this version of Torchwood, mapped themselves onto your world and then vanished."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise "When was this?"

"Three years ago," Pete replied instantly.

"It's taken then three years to cross the void," the Doctor mused "But we can pop to and fro in a second. Must be the sheer mass of five million Cybermen crossing all at once."

Pete scoffed "Yeah, Mickey said you'd rattle off that sort of stuff."

"Oh, where is the Mickey boy?" the Time Lord asked, looking around.

Pete tilted his head "He went ahead first."

"Since he wasn't in the lever room… I guess he is with Rose and the Daleks," I squinted, biting my lip. It was the only option that I could think of. Mickey would try to get rid of what he probably thought were Cybermen in the sphere. Even the Doctor though it was their before…

Pete grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him to the window "Look at it, a world of peace. They're calling this the Golden Age."

"Who's the President now?"

"A woman called Harriet Jones," the red-haired man shrugged.

The Time Lord winced "Oof. I'd keep an eye on her."

"But it's a lie," Pete continued, almost speaking over the Doctor "Temperatures have risen by two degrees in the past six months. The ice caps are melting. They're saying all this is going to be flooded. That's not just global warming, is it?"

I looked out of the window "That would be a little quick, no?"

"It's the breech?" Pete asked.

The Doctor nodded "I've been trying to tell you. Travel between parallel worlds is impossible. Then the Daleks break down the walls with the sphere."

"Daleks?"

I patted Pete's shoulder "Trust me. You don't want to know."

"Then the Cybermen travel across," the Doctor added "Then you lot. Those discs. Every time you jump from one reality to another, you rip a hole in the universe. This planet is starting to boil. Keep going and both worlds will fall into the Void."

Pete paled "But you can stop it? The famous Doctor. You can seal the breech?"

"Leaving five million Cybermen stranded on my Earth," the Time Lord scoffed.

"That's your problem," Pete shrugged "I'm protecting this world and this world only."

The Doctor stared at him seriously "Hmm. Pete Tyler," he muttered "I knew you when you were dead. Now here you are, fighting the fight alone. There is a chance, back on my world. Jackie Tyler might still be alive."

"My wife died," the man spat harshly.

"Doctor," I sighed in annoyance, leaning against his side lightly "Now is not the time to play matchmaker. There are more important things going on."

The Doctor hummed "Closing the breech. Stop the Cybermen? Defeat the Daleks? Do you guys really believe I can do that?"

"Yes," Pete nodded and the others all followed suit.

"Maybe that's all I need," the Doctor grinned, wrapping his arm around my waist "Off we go, then." Our group of seven appeared in the empty lever room "First of all, I need to make a phone call. You don't mind?"

Jake pointed to two of their people who had returned to the room while we were gone "You two, guard the door."

"Ty? Do you have Jackie's number?" the Time Lord asked.

I furrowed my brow "Yes. Why?"

"Give me your phone," he demanded, holding out his hand.

"I'm having a serious case of deja vu right now," I sighed, handing it over.

It didn't take long for Jackie to answer, completely out of breath " _Oh, my God, help me,_ " she pleaded.

"Jackie," the Doctor exclaimed "You're alive. Listen…"

" _They tried to download me but I ran away,_ " she interrupted.

The Time Lord rolled his eyes "Shush. Listen, tell me. Where are you?"

" _I don't know,_ " Jackie breathed " _Staircase._ "

The Doctor glanced at the floor plans "Yeah, which one? Is there any sort of sign? Anything to identify it?"

" _Yes,_ " the blonde woman answered right away " _A fire extinguisher._ "

I snorted "Well, that's helpful," I grinned.

"What's helpful?" Henrik questioned curiously.

"Nothing, nothing," I shook my head, not hiding my amusement at the frazzled woman. I couldn't blame her though. She had almost been upgraded after all.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at me "Yeah," he deadpanned "That helps."

" _Oh, wait a minute. It says N3,_ " Jackie relied.

"North corner," the Doctor expanded "Staircase three. Just keep low, we're trying our best."

Jackie let out a panicked noise " _No, don't leave me._ "

"I've got to go. I'm sorry," he apologized, hanging up the phone before handing it back to me. The Doctor caught Pete's eye "Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler."

"She's not my wife," the red-haired man snapped.

I nudged the Time Lord "Now is not the time, Doctor. Just leave him alone, alright? If he meets her, he meets her and if not then that's alright."

"Haven't you ever tried to play matchmaker?" the Doctor huffed, looking down at me.

I shrugged "Maybe but this really isn't the time for any of this."

"You're right," he sighed "Now then, Jakey boy if I can open up the bonding chamber on this thing, it'll work on polycarbite." The gun that Jake had been holding was now in the Doctor's hands as he messed around with it.

Jake frowned "What's polycarbite?"

"Skin of a Dalek," the Time Lord answered, getting to work. Ten minutes later, he was done "Okay, let's get going. We need to hurry."

"Kol, Henrik and Ricky. You three stay up here, make sure it stays clear," Pete ordered, pointing to the three of them. They looked ready to protest but one look from Jake and Pete shut them up.

A few corridors down, I stopped the Doctor "There's Cybermen two corners from here."

He looked at me before holding up a piece of paper with a small grin "Well, then. Stay out of sight." The Doctor leaned against the wall, waving the paper around the corner the Cybermen were standing around "Sorry," he apologized "No white flag. I only had a sheet of A4. Same difference."

"Do you surrender?" the Cyberman demanded, holding out his arm, ready to shoot if necessary.

The Doctor shrugged "I surrender onto you. A very good idea."

Just as they were about to lead him away, I appeared next to him, grabbing his arm "What are you doing?"

"Guns are good. Having backup… That's even better." He lead us back to the sphere chamber as quickly as he could before he stopped outside. He looked at the Cybermen who had followed us – reluctantly at first but they came around when the Doctor explained his plan "You guys… Stay back alright? Tyra and I will go in alone."

" _You will be exterminated,_ " the black Dalek shouted at Rose just as the door opened for us.

I looked over to see the Doctor wearing his stupid 3D glasses again. When had he put them on again? "Oh now, hold on, wait a minute," the Doctor spoke up, strolling towards the group by the end of the room.

"Alert, alert," the black Dalek exclaimed "You are the Doctor."

Another Dalek came forward "Sensors report he is unarmed."

"That's me," the Time Lord shrugged "Always."

"Then you are powerless," the black Dalek pointed out.

The Doctor raised his hand to his chest in mock hurt "Not me. Never." He looked at Rose and Mickey "How are you?"

"Oh, same old," the blonde breathed in relief "You know."

"Good," the Doctor nodded seriously "And Mickity McMickey. Nice to see you." The two of them fist-bumped before Mickey turned to me with his eyebrow raised. I grinned, wrapping my arms around his middle.

One of the three normal looking Daleks practically shoved us apart "Social interaction will cease."

"How did you survive the Time War?" the black Dalek asked, his eyestalk never wavering from the Doctor's face.

"By fighting," the Time Lord pointed out tightly. Mickey looked at him in surprise "On the front line. I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that. But you lot ran away."

The black Dalek whirred around "We hat to survive."

"The last four Daleks in existence," the Doctor mocked "So… What's so special about you?"

Rose leaned forward, grabbing at his arm "Doctor, they've got names. I mean, Daleks don't have names, do they? One of them said they…"

"I am Dalek Thay," one of the normal Daleks exclaimed.

"Dalek Sec," the black Dalek introduced himself.

Another of the normal Daleks spoke up "Dalek Jast."

"Dalek Caan."

"So that's it," the Time Lord breathed "At last. The Cult of Skaro. I thought you were just a legend."

"Who are they?" Rose whispered.

The Doctor glanced down at her "A secret order above and beyond the Emperor himself. Their job was to imagine, think like the enemy things. Even dared to have names. All to find new ways of killing."

"But that thing," Mickey spoke up, pointing to the Ark "They said it was yours. I mean, Time Lord. They built it. What does it do?"

The Doctor shrugged "I don't know," he admitted "Never seen it before."

"But it's Time Lord," Rose frowned.

I raised my eyebrow at her "Do you know everything that's human?" I asked her "Because even after so long, I still don't. Why do you expect him to know everything?"

"Both sides had secrets," the Doctor agreed "What is it? What have you done?"

Dalek Sec swung his eyestalk around "Time Lord science will restore Dalek supremacy."

"What does that mean?" the Time Lord demanded "What sort of Time Lord science? What do you mean?"

"They said one touch from a time traveller will wake it up," Rose pointed out with a shrug.

The Doctor smiled lightly "Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do. Touch. Sealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything ever, from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage. Completely alone. That explains your voice. Not wonder you scream."

Dalek Sec evidently had enough of the Doctor's bullshit, so he pointed his gun at the Time Lord threateningly "The Doctor will open the Ark."

"The Doctor will not," the Doctor replied in almost the same tone. There might have been less shouting involved for him but still…

"You have no way of resisting," the Dalek pointed out matter-of-factly.

The Doctor hummed "Well, you got me there. Although there is always this." He held up his sonic teasingly.

"A sonic probe?" Dalek Sec asked.

"That's screwdriver," he shrugged.

Dalek Sec turned away "It is harmless."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor nodded empathically "Harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do. It is very good at opening doors." He pointed to the door of the laboratory just as it blew in. Jake entered along with the Cybermen and started shooting immediately after making sure where we were.

"Delete. Delete. Delete. Delete," the Cybermen cried out, shooting as much and as quickly as they could at the Daleks.

"Alert," Dalek Jast cried out "Casing impaired. Casing impaired."

The Doctor shoved me forward "Rose, Tyra, get out."

"Fire power insufficient," Dalek Sec pointed out "Fire power insufficient."

In front of me, Rose stumbled only being held up by Pete "Come on," the man mumbled, pulling her along.

I stopped when I saw Mickey diving for his gun "Mickey. Get out of here." Just as he was about to, the Dalek killed one of the Cybermen, jostling Mickey. The boy put out a hand, catching himself on the Ark. I shot forward, pulling him across the room and to the fire blast door the Doctor and the others were already waiting at.

"Cybermen primary target," Dalek Sec ordered, not even sparing us a glance.

The Doctor closed the blast door as we reached the North corner "Jake, check the stairwell. The rest of you, come on." The blond man nodded and ran off.

Mickey caught up with the Time Lord, looking apologetically "I just fell, I didn't mean it."

"Mickey, without us, they'd have opened it by force," the Doctor explained quietly "To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favour. Now, run."

I followed the others before I let out a low hiss "Jackie's close. I can hear her," I informed them as I heard pleading "She got caught."

"Oh, no, she didn't," Pete muttered, jogging down the corridor I had indicated. He shot the Cybermen from behind, saving his not-wife.

Jackie gaped "Pete?"

"Hello, Jacks," the red-haired man smiled.

"I said there were ghosts," the woman exclaimed turning to me "You told me there weren't really ghosts. But that's not fair. Why him?"

I exchanged an amused look with Pete "He's not a ghost, Jackie. He's…"

"But you're dead," she interrupted "You died twenty years ago, Pete."

The Doctor stepped forward "It's Pete from a different universe. There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where…"

"Oh, you can shut up," Jackie waved him off, leaving the Time Lord with his mouth open in surprise. She looked up at Pete "Oh, you look old." I muffled my laughter in Mickey's shoulder since he was the one closest to me, shaking my head at the typical Jackie behaviour.

Pete smiled awkwardly "You don't."

"How can you be standing there?" Jackie questioned.

The red-haired man shrugged "I just got lucky. Lived my life. You were left on your own. You didn't marry again or…"

"There was never anyone," the woman shook her head "Twenty years, though. Look at me. I never left that flat. Did nothing with myself."

"You brought her up," Pete replied, gesturing to Rose who was standing next to me "Rose Tyler. That's not bad."

Jackie bit her lip "Yeah."

Pete shifted, trying to think of something to say. It seemed to be getting less awkward "In my world, it worked. All those daft little plans of mine, they worked. Made me rich."

"I don't care about that," Jackie shook her head "How rich?"

The Doctor and I snorted as a grin stole its way across Pete's face "Very."

Jackie nodded "I don't care about that. How very?"

"The thing is though, Jacks, you're not my wife," Pete pointed out, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than her "I'm sorry but you're not. I mean, we both. You know, it's just sort of… Oh, come here." He handed his gun to me just in time for Jackie to run into his arms.

After a few minutes of them hugging, the Doctor cleared his throat "I hate to break the moment… but we kind of have a situation to deal with?"

We continued on through the corridor until we reached the big doors of the warehouse from earlier. The Doctor peaked into the warehouse, then crawled over to a crate to grab a pair of Magnaclamps before dodging laser fire to get back. Rose is on the edge of her toes "Come on, please."

As soon as he was back with us, the Doctor looked back in with his 3D glasses. The black Dalek was in the middle of the warehouse "Override roof mechanism," he shouted. The warehouse roof shutters started to slide back "Elevate."

"What're they doing?" Rose whispered, craning her neck "Why do they need to get outside?"

"Time Lord science," the Doctor replied "What Time Lord science? What is it?" We all watched as the Ark and the black Dalek glided up and out into Canary Wharf "We've got to see what it's doing. We've got to go back up. Come on. All of you, top floor."

Jackie protested immediately "That's forty-five floors up. Believe m e, I've done them all."

Jake hit a button on the wall "We could always take the lift?" he offered with a crooked grin.

Back in Yvonne's office, the Doctor got to the window in time to see the Ark shooting out Daleks in all directions as it spun around. The Time Lord cursed loudly "Time Lord science. It's bigger on the inside."

"Did the Time Lords put those Daleks in there? What for?" Mickey asked, watching the sky in trepidation.

"It's a prison ship," the Doctor pointed out grimly.

Rose moved forward "How many Daleks?"

"Millions." The Daleks spread out over London as the Cybermen started shooting at the sky, leaving the humans alone in favour of the new threat.

Pete shook his head, backing away "I'm sorry but you've had it. This world's going to crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home." He took a yellow medallion from one of the commando and held it out for Jackie "Jacks, take this. You're coming with us."

"But they're destroying the city," Jackie argued.

Pete shook his head with a sigh "I'd forgotten you could argue. It's not just London, it's the whole world. But there's another world just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe as long as the Doctor closes the breech. Doctor?"

The Doctor turned around "Oh, I'm ready. I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood." He used a computer terminal "Slam it down and close off both universes."

"But we can't just leave," Rose exclaimed "What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen?"

"They're part of the problem," the Doctor explained "And that makes them the solution. Oh yes." He looked at us with the 3D glasses on again "Well? Isn't anyone going to ask what is it with the glasses? Anyone but Tyra that is."

Rose threw me a look before smiling at the Doctor "What is it with the glasses?"

"I can see," the Time Lord exclaimed smugly "That's what. Because we've got two separate worlds but in between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here. And you lot, one world to another, via the Void. Oh, I like that. Via the Void. Look." He handed the spectacles to Rose "I've been through it. Do you see?"

" _Reboot in three minutes,_ " the computer announced.

Rose grimaced at the sight "What is it?"

"Void stuff," the Doctor shrugged "Look at the others. And the only one who hasn't been through the Void, your mother. First time she's looked normal all in her life."

"Oi," Jackie huffed.

The Time Lord grinned at her "But the Daleks lived inside the Void. They're bristling with it. Cybermen, all of them. I just opened the Void and reverse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."

"Pulling them all in," Rose finished.

"Sorry, what's the Void?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "The dead space. Some people call it Hell."

"So you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell," Micky nodded before hitting Jake's shoulder "Man, I told you he was good."

I hummed "But if that's the case… How do you plan on keeping all of us from getting sucked in as well?"

"That's why you've got to go," the Doctor said.

" _Reboot in two minutes,_ " the computer intoned.

The Time Lord didn't look at us when he started talking again "Back to Pete's world. Hey, we should call it that. Pete's World. I'm opening the Void but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side."

"And then you close it, for good?" Pete made sure.

"The breech itself is soaked in Void stuff," the Doctor nodded "In the end, it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput."

Rose crossed her arms "But you stay on this side?"

"But you'll get pulled in," Mickey pointed out worriedly.

"That's why we got these," the Doctor pointed out, holding up the Magnaclamp "I'll just have to hold on tight. I've been doing it all my life."

Rose stared at him "I'm supposed to go? And Tyra?"

"Yeah," the Time Lord nodded.

I ripped away from Henrik, Kol, Mickey and Jake, stalking towards him "I'm not leaving," I hissed, trying very hard not to let my emotions take over "You of all people know how it is to be alone. There are no vampires there… I would be alone."

"Your family is alive," he reminded me, pointing behind me "Your twin is alive."

"But they're not my family," I shouted, tears in my eyes before taking deep breaths "They're not my family. They're human, Henrik is human. My family is out there somewhere and if I leave now… I'm never going to see them again." I pointed out of the window aggressively.

I glanced at Henrik sadly when I realized that this was it. I would never see him again… And even if it wasn't actually my brother, the thought hurt. When he noticed me looking, he waved me over as Rose started to argue with the Doctor "I know that I'm not actually your brother," he started "But… would you like some sort of photos or something?"

"You would…" I trailed off, tears entering my eyes "Why would you do that?"

"Because you're still hurt," Henrik pointed out "And it's the least I can do for you. After all, you saved us from becoming Cybermen."

I threw my arms around him, a few tears escaping "Thank you. Thank you. I –"

Henrik shook his head, ruffling my hair "You don't have to thank me. It's nothing." He handed Kol the phone I handed him and made sure that I had plenty of pictures with me and only him.

The last one was probably my favourite. I was distracted by the computer when Henrik threw me over his shoulder, making me laugh out loud "Henrik," I exclaimed, getting the attention of everyone else in the room. From my position over my parallel twin's shoulder, I could see the Doctor smiling at us brightly "Thanks," I whispered when he put me down. I leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek, accepting my phone back "Really. This – This means a lot. Not just to me but to my other siblings as well."

The building started to shake and Pete stepped forward "We haven't got time to argue. The plan works… We're going. I can understand Tyra staying because she's right, Doctor. You can't just throw her into a world where she is alone…"

"I'm not leaving here if Tyra is staying," Rose hissed, staring at Pete defiantly.

Jackie stepped between her daughter and the parallel version of her husband "I'm not going without her."

"Oh, my God," Pete groaned "We're going."

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it," Jackie cried out "I'm not leaving her."

Rose shook her head "You've got to."

Jackie rolled her eyes "Well, that's tough."

"Mum."

The computer cut off the argument " _Reboot in one minute._ "

"I've had a life with you for nineteen years," the other girl pointed out, looking at her mother intently "But then I met the Doctor and all the things I've seen him do for us, for all of us… For the whole stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum." She glanced at me "Well, almost. But not anymore because now he got me. And Tyra."

I was surprised that she actually included me but when the Doctor snuck up behind her I made to open my mouth. He shook his head, putting a medallion around Rose's neck at the same time as Pete pressed the button. The whole group disappeared. I stared at the spot Henrik had vanished in before shaking my head "You know that she won't stay gone, right?" I asked, looking at the Doctor.

"I'm hoping that Pete can contain her until I can close the Void," the Time Lord shook his head sadly "Come on. Let's get this done."

Suddenly, Rose appeared in the middle of the room "I think this is the on switch…"

"Told you so," I coughed, walking around the Doctor to fetch both of the Magnaclamps for later.

The Time Lord turned to Rose, grabbing her shoulders roughly "Once the breach collapses, that's it. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother."

"I made a choice a long time ago," the blonde swallowed, throwing a quick glare to me. What did I do now? "And I'm never going to leave you. So what can I do to help?"

" _Systems rebooted,_ " the computer announced " _Open access._ "

"Ty, get the clamps ready… Put them on the walls here. Rose, those coordinates over there, set them all at six. And hurry up," he commanded.

Rose went to the terminal, her head snapping up almost immediately "We've got Cybermen on the way up."

"How many floors down?" the Doctor asked, jogging over to her.

"Just one."

The computer once again spoke up " _Levers operational._ "

"That's more like it," Rose cheered as I fastened the second clamp at the bit of wall just behind the lever Rose was standing at "Bit of a smile. The old team."

I looked over at the Doctor with a small smirk "If you call us the Scooby Gang, I'm going to kill you."

"I was going to mention the three Musketeers," the Time Lord shrugged, grabbing the right lever "When it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff. Are you ready?"

I nodded as Rose pointed to the window "So are they."

The Doctor stared at the Daleks who were visible just outside the window "Let's do it."

"Rose, hold onto the clamp. I got the lever," I told her, quickly getting the lever into an upright position.

" _Online,_ " the computer intoned. A bright light came out of the breach as I held onto the clamp with Rose, a strong wind rushing past us, sucking the first Daleks through the windows and into it.

The Doctor looked into the light "The breach is open. Into the Void. Ha." There was a steady stream of Cybermen and Daleks all being sucked through the one broken window and into the Void until the lever on our side moved a little.

" _Offline,_ " the computer announced as the suction started to decrease.

Rose and I exchanged a look before she nodded reluctantly, tightening her grip on the clamp. I slowly let go and carefully got myself over to the lever. I pulled at my hand a little, getting the lever back into its upright " _Online and locked._ "

"Tyra, hold on. Both of you, hold on," the Doctor shouted. The suction built up as I tried to hold onto the lever as I was being pulled towards the Void horizontally. I had almost done it, my grip remaining strong when a Dalek knocked Rose against the wall, causing her grip on the clamp to loosen. I tried to reach out to grab her but when my hand slipped, I tightened my grip. Pete popped in just in time to catch the blonde and teleported them away.

As soon as they were gone, the wind died down and the Void closed itself " _Systems closed._ "

"I'm sorry," I gasped, falling to the ground "I tried. I'm so sorry."

The Doctor was staring at the wall for a few moments before walking over to help me up "It's not your fault. That Dalek hit her and you had enough to do with holding onto that. lever. It's fine."

The two of us went back to the Tardis, past all the carnage the Cybermen and Daleks had left in their wake. There were many bodies littering the way and only very few survivors. I sat down in the jump seat, leaning my head back "What are you going to do now?"

"I'll find a way to say goodbye," the Time Lord swallowed "I owe her that at least."

I tilted my head "I thought that the breach was sealed?"

"If I get enough power… I can get a few minutes if I'm lucky," he explained, working on the console.

"Are you sure?" I asked, wrapping my arms around him "That you'll be able to get enough power, I mean."

He leaned his head on mine "I can hope. Ah!" he exclaimed "The Tardis found it."

"Er… What?"

"A supernova," the Doctor pointed out "We can use the energy of the supernova to project an image into the parallel world."

It took a little while but soon an image of Rose appeared in the Tardis. I had stepped back again, letting the Doctor do his thing "Rose," he breathed, smiling lightly.

"Where are you?" the blonde questioned, the wind blowing through her hair.

The Time Lord looked around "Inside the Tardis. There's one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a supernova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

Rose sniffed "You look like a ghost."

"Hold on," the Doctor blinked, using the sonic to solidify his image.

"Can't you come through properly?" Rose questioned.

The Time Lord shook his head "The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse."

Rose looked at the Doctor curiously "Is Tyra there as well?"

"I'm here," I told her, coming up behind the Doctor. As soon as I was standing behind him, I could see myself standing on a beach with Mickey, Jackie and Pete standing some ways behind Rose by a car "Where are we?"

"Norway," the blonde grinned weakly "About fifty miles out of Burgen. It's called Darlig Ulv Stranden."

My head jerked back "Bad Wolf Bay? Really?"

"You speak Norwegian?" the Doctor frowned down at me.

I raised a shoulder "Well, my family is from Norway… Kind of. Plus, I'm a Norwegian citizen."

"You never told me that," the Time Lord remarked.

"How long have we got?" Rose cut in, looking from the Doctor to me and back.

He licked his lips "About two minutes."

"I can't think of what to say," the blonde laughed, tears gathering in her eyes.

I bit my lip "Rose, I'm sorry. I tried…" When she didn't say anything, I stepped back "I think this is between the two of you," I gestured to the Doctor, ignoring his curious look "I'll leave you to it. Good luck." I waved at Mickey who saluted me before making my way out of the console room to grab myself a blood bag from the fridge in my room. As soon as I reached my room, my phone started ringing "Hello?" I sighed, rubbing a hand over my forehead. This whole day had been shitty and I was sort of glad that it was over now.

" _Tyra,_ " Damon's voice snapped me from my thoughts.

"Damon," I frowned "Why are you calling? Are you alright?"

There was a snort on the other end of the line " _I should be asking you that. I saw those aliens._ "

"What makes you think that I was involved?" I asked.

" _Because I know the Doctor. He would be in the middle of a mess like that and normally, where he goes, you go,_ " the younger vampire pointed out.

I snorted "Well, yes. I am alright but we lost Rose."

" _What do you mean 'lost'?"_ Damon questioned " _Did you finally snap?_ "

I shook my head "No, thankfully not. She's with her family in a parallel universe. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime. Listen, I gotta go now. I need a drink."

Damon laughed lightly " _That's alright. I'm glad that you're fine. Tell the Doctor I said hi._ "

"I will. Thanks for the call, Damon." I slowly wandered back to the console room with the unopened back, making sure that the Doctor was done saying goodbye to Rose before entering "Are you alright?" I murmured, wrapping my arms around him after setting down the bag.

The Doctor stared at the console for a moment before he nodded slowly "I think so. Or I will be."

"I'm glad that you allowed me to stay, by the way," I sighed, releasing him to take a pull from the blood bag.

"I'm sorry about that, Ty," the Doctor mumbled, scratching the back of his head "I really should have known better. Being the only one of your kind is…"

"Don't," I shook my head "You don't have to say it. And you're forgiven."

He sent me a grin before going to walk around the console, setting the controls "What?" he blinked, after looking up. I turned my head to see a figure in a wedding dress standing with her back to us.

As soon as the Time Lord spoke, she whirled around, her mouth dropping open "Oh."

"What?" the Doctor repeated.

The red-haired woman crossed her arms angrily "Who are you?"

The Doctor looked from the woman to the console to me "But…"

"Where am I?"

"What?" the Doctor demanded, completely flabbergasted still.

The woman in the wedding dress glared "What the hell is this place?"

I snorted when the Doctor once again repeated his "What?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... What did you think of this Series? Did you like me putting in Mikaelsons and Damon at the random? Like special guests. What can I do better in the next Series? The typical post-Series questions that I would love for you to answer.
> 
> One more question though... Do you want an update for Doctor's Wolf next or should I write the way I want to and can? It's up to you. I don't really care.
> 
> Nick


	16. Runaway Bride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm surprising myself with the length of these chapters and yes, this is a fast update again xD But I'm not sure whether I will update much in the next few weeks since I'm going to Spain for three weeks starting the Sunday after next. I'll do my best to write but I am doing a language course, so I don't know how busy I'll be.
> 
> Also... Let's hope that I more or less managed to peg Donna. She wasn't too easy to write the way she was in this Episode, just cause I'm used to the way she was in Series 4 more than in this Special.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

_Last chapter…_

_"Are you alright?" I murmured, wrapping my arms around him after setting down the bag._

_The Doctor stared at the console for a moment before he nodded slowly "I think so. Or I will be."_

_"I'm glad that you allowed me to stay, by the way," I sighed, releasing him to take a pull from the blood bag._

_"I'm sorry about that, Ty," the Doctor mumbled, scratching the back of his head "I really should have known better. Being the only one of your kind is…"_

_"Don't," I shook my head "You don't have to say it. And you're forgiven."_

_He sent me a grin before going to walk around the console, setting the controls "What?" he blinked, after looking up. I turned my head to see a figure in a wedding dress standing with her back to us._

_As soon as the Time Lord spoke, she whirled around, her mouth dropping open "Oh."_

_"What?" the Doctor repeated._

_The red-haired woman crossed her arms angrily "Who are you?"_

_The Doctor looked from the woman to the console to me "But…"_

_"Where am I?"_

_"What?" the Doctor demanded, completely flabbergasted still._

_The woman in the wedding dress glared "What the hell is this place?"_

_I snorted when the Doctor once again repeated his "What?"_

Now…

"You can't do that," the Time Lord shook his head "I wasn't… We're in flight. That is – that is physically impossible. How did…?"

"Tell me where I am," the woman shouted, glaring at the Doctor "I demand you tell me right now where am I?"

The Doctor looked at me helplessly but I just grinned, taking a sip from the bag in my hand. He huffed and turned back to the woman "Inside the Tardis."

"The what?" the woman demanded.

"The Tardis," the Time Lord repeated, sounding more and more annoyed at the woman in the wedding dress.

The red-haired woman raised her eyebrow, sounding just as done with the Doctor as he seemed with her. I merely sat down on the jump seat, watching the confrontation in amusement "The what?"

"The Tardis."

"The what?"

The Doctor groaned "It's called the Tardis."

"That's not even a proper word," the woman pointed out "You're just saying things."

"How did you get in here?" the Time Lord questioned.

The bride stared at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously "Well, obviously you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it."

"Sorry, who's Nerys?" I asked in confusion, leaning against the console next to the Doctor "And what did you do to her that she has to get you back for it? That sounds like a story I would love to hear."

"Your best friend," the woman jabbed her finger at us before she glanced down at the bag in my hand "What is that? Are you drinking blood? What kind of sick freak does that?"

"Hold on," the Doctor cut in "Wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?"

"I'm going ten-pin bowling," the red-haired woman sneered.

I hit the Time Lord's head lightly "Wedding dress, Doc. She's getting married."

"I was halfway up the aisle," the woman shouted again, her finger digging into the Doctor's chest. The Doctor shifted away, fiddling with the controls as the woman followed him, ranting "I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away and then you two, I don't know, you drugged me or something. You and that freak of yours."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed "I didn't do anything. And I would appreciate it if you didn't call her a freak."

The woman stomped around the console, following the Doctor as he checked what exactly happened here "I'm having the police on you," she huffed "Me and my husband… As soon as he is my husband. We're going to sue the living backside off you." Her eyes caught the door and she started running towards is.

I exchanged a look with the Doctor before he surged forward "No, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't." He whirled around to me "Why didn't you stop her?"

"Sorry," I shrugged "I doubt she would have liked me anywhere close to her. I'm a freak after all." I finished my response with a small shrug, not really insulted at all. People have been calling me worse after all.

She opened the doors and looked at the gaseous nebula of the previous supernova we had been using to say goodbye to Rose. The Doctor and I joined her by the doors "You're in space. Outer space. This is my space ship. It's called the Tardis."

"How am I breathing?" the woman gaped and for the first time, her voice held a quiet tone. Not the usual shouty levels.

The Doctor leaned against the other half of the door behind the woman, drawing me closer to his side "The Tardis is protecting us."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord introduced himself "And this is Tyra. You?"

"Donna," the woman mumbled, still staring outside.

The Doctor tilted his head "Human?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded before her head snapped up "Is that optional?"

The Doctor shrugged "Well, it is for me."

"You're… You're an alien?" she questioned before her eyes went to me "Are you too?"

I shook my head "He is. I'm not…"

"It's freezing with these doors open," Donna suddenly remarked, her arms wrapped around herself tightly.

The Doctor slammed the doors shut, whirling around to run back to the console, leaving me standing next to Donna "I don't understand that and I understand everything."

"Except for human interaction," I mumbled under my breath.

"This – This can't happen," he shook his head "There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the Tardis and transport itself inside… It must be." He let out a triumphant noise as he grabbed an ophthalmoscope, getting very close to Donna, looking at her eyes "Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection?"

I stepped forward hesitatingly "Doctor… Maybe this isn't…"

"Something in the temporal field?" he cut me off, not even hearing what I was trying to say.

"Doctor," I sighed, seeing the anger rising in Donna's eyes.

The Time Lord just blundered on "Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA with the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic…" The red-haired woman reached out, delivering a loud slap to the Doctor's face. He turned back to her, a hand resting on his stinging cheek "What was that for?"

"You're so dense sometimes," I snorted, patting his shoulder.

Donna glared at us in annoyance "Get me to the church."

"And she's shouting again," I sighed, hopping onto one of the railings close to where the Doctor was standing.

The Doctor dropped his instruments and turned back to the console "Right," he huffed "Fine. I don't want you here anywhere. Having Tyra here is more than enough trouble."

"Hey," I exclaimed "At least I'm not the one wandering off all the freaking time."

"Are you two done?" Donna huffed, crossing her arms again.

The Time Lord rolled his eyes "Where is this wedding?"

"Saint Mary's," the woman started as the Doctor got to work "Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System." She froze when something caught her eye. I looked over to see one of Rose's blouses slung over the railing across from mine "I knew it," she hissed, snatching it up "Acting all innocent. I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?" Donna turned to me "Did he abduct you too?"

I grabbed the blouse from her hand as the Doctor swallowed a few times "That's our friend's," he said quietly. I threw it onto the second level, making a mental note to put it away later. Maybe Rose's room…

"Where is she then?" Donna demanded "Popped out for a spacewalk?"

I placed my hand on the Doctor's, standing as close to him as I could "She's gone," I told the woman.

The red-haired woman raised an eyebrow "Gone where?"

"We lost her," the Doctor mumbled, wrapping his arm around my waist out of Donna's sight. I let him, knowing that Rose was important to him, no matter whether she was flirting with him the whole time or not. She was his friend and that was what counted.

"Well, you can hurry up and lose me," Donna shouted furiously. She calmed down for a moment, studying us closely. I shot her a warning look with a small shake of my head, while the Doctor stared at the console sadly "How do you mean, lost?" she whispered.

The Doctor's head snapped up, distancing himself from me "Right," he clapped, his mask back up "Chiswick."

As soon as the Tardis had landed, Donna was already halfway out of the door "I said, Saint Mary's," the red-haired woman grumbled, seeing the buildings all around "What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?"

"Something's wrong with her," the Time Lord breathed, petting the Tardis' frame with a worried frown "That Tardis… It's like she's recalibrating." He ran back inside, while I stayed where I was "She's digesting." The Doctor did something on the console, trying to find out what happened "What is it? What have you eaten? What's wrong? Donna? You've really got to think. Is there anything that might've caused this?" I watched the red-haired woman walk around the Tardis, ignoring the Doctor completely. Her eyes were extremely wide as she did the circle around the Tardis that I was told most people did at first "Anything you might have done," the Doctor continued calling over his shoulder from inside "Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off. What id you're dangerous. I mean, have you – have you seen lights in the sky or did you touch something like something – something different, something strange?"

"Doctor?" I called to him as Donna started walking away after another freaked out glance into the Tardis "She's wandering off." I quickly followed her down the street.

"Donna." The Doctor ran towards us, stopping in front of Donna to block her path.

The woman shook her head "Leave me alone. I just want to get married."

"Come back to the Tardis," the Doctor tried to convince her.

Donna snorted "No way. That box is too weird."

"I know it's weird," I told her with a small grin "But if anyone can help, it's the Doctor."

"I really doubt that," Donna shot back, looking down at her watch "Ten past three. I'm going to miss it."

The Doctor looked at her, his eyes softening a little "You can phone them. Tell them where you are."

"How do I do that?" the woman raised her eyebrow.

"Haven't you got a mobile?" the Time Lord questioned.

Donna closed her eyes and took a deep breath "I'm in my wedding dress," she hissed "It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is to give me pockets."

"Ty? Do you have your phone?" the Doctor asked with a sigh.

I patted the front pockets of my jeans and frowned "No. I think I left it in my room," I muttered "Damon called earlier – he says hi, by the way – and I forgot it after I changed."

"Great," he mumbled and turned back to Donna "This man you're marrying. What's his name?"

"Lance," Donna smiled dreamily.

The Doctor hummed "Good luck, Lance."

"Oi," Donna exclaimed "No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you. Both of you." With that said, she started running towards the street.

The Time Lord stared after her in exasperation "I'm – I'm not… I'm not… I'm not from Mars."

"Is that really the most important thing right now?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," he shook his head "But I'm not from Mars. That's just insulting."

I patted his shoulder "Well, while you're here pouting, Donna is leaving. She is certainly… something."

"Oh, that she is," the Doctor agreed, tugging me after the bride.

We ran, catching up with her as she was trying to call down a taxi "Taxi," she shouted as one drove past her "Why's his light on?"

The Doctor pointed, while I stood back. I never really did the whole taxi experience, so I didn't know how it worked. Whenever I needed a ride I either used public transport or – most commonly – I compelled myself a ride "There's another one." He tried to run and catch it but was too slow.

"Taxi," Donna called again and waved frantically in an effort to catch the driver's attention but again they just drove on "Oi."

The Doctor glanced back at Donna in confusion "Do you have that effect on everyone? Why aren't they stopping?"

"They think I'm in fancy dress," Donna pointed out, looking at her dress with tears once again gathering in her eyes.

A taxi drove past, honking "Stay off the scotch, darling."

"They think I'm drunk?"

Two guys in a car yelled out of the window next "You're fooling no one, mate."

"They think I'm in drag," the red-haired woman huffed.

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor shook his head, stepping out into the road. He raised his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. A taxi did a quick U-turn, coming over to pick us up. We climbed into the backseat with me half pressed against the door and somehow still almost on the Doctor's lap. It was a slightly frustrating position to be in.

Donna leaned forward to talk to the driver "Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road." She sniffed lightly "It's an emergency, I'm getting married. Just… Hurry up."

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart?" the driver called back "Double rated today."

"Oh, my God." The woman's eyes widened "Have you got any money?" she whispered.

The Doctor shook his head "Er… No." He glanced down at me before looking back to Donna sheepishly "Haven't you?"

"Pockets," Donna gestured to her dress violently.

I rolled my eyes, leaning forward to compel the driver to take us to the church free of charge when the Doctor stopped me "Don't," he murmured "Let's just get money."

"Why?" I frowned.

"Ty, it's not right. We can get money… You shouldn't compel people if it's not necessary," the Doctor whispered into my ear.

I raised an eyebrow "It's not like he's going to remember. I still don't see what the harm is?"

Before the Doctor could say anything or I could do anything else, the driver slammed on his breaks, dumping us back where he picked us up. The red-haired woman chased after him, shouting insults "… and that goes double for your mother. I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him." She took a deep breath "Talk about the Christmas spirit."

I blinked in confusion "It's… Christmas?"

"Well, duh," Donna rolled her eyes "Maybe not on Mars or wherever you are from but here it's Christmas Eve." Her eyes landed on a phone box and she was off "Phone box. We can reverse the charges."

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" the Doctor asked, lightly pushing Donna to the side, squeezing himself into the phone box next to her.

The woman shook her head "Can't bear it," she admitted "I hate Christmas. Honeymoon, Morocco. Sunshine, lovely. What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?"

The Doctor used his sonic, getting a dial tone only seconds later "Just call the direct."

"What did you do?" Donna frowned suspiciously.

"Something Martian," the Doctor shot back, handing her the receiver "Now phone. Ty and I'll get the money." He dragged me away and over to a cash machine, waiting behind a man impatiently.

I cleared my throat a little, catching his attention "Wasn't it July just yesterday?"

"Er… It was actually," the Doctor admitted "The Tardis might have skipped ahead a little. I don't actually know. It has something to do with Donna though."

The man in front of us left and the Doctor moved forward, taking out his sonic again. I raised my eyebrow when he started sonicking the ATM "You do know that I have a credit card, right?"

"Why use your money when I can do this?" he asked with a shrug, pocketing the money before he froze "Tyra?"

I looked at what he was looking and cursed "Really?" I muttered, seeing a trio of Santas playing brass instruments "Again?"

He looked around, trying to find Donna. She had just waved down another taxi and was getting inside "Saint Mary's, Chiswick. Thanks for nothing, spaceman," Donna shouted "I'll see you in Court."

"Donna," the Doctor called out suddenly, seeing the driver of the taxi. He whirled around to face the Santas who by now were pointing their instruments at us "Get ready," he mumbled, tightening his grip on the sonic. With one motion, he zapped the ATM, sending hundred of banknotes flying across the street. Every person around us immediately started grabbing handfuls of money both from the ground or trying to pluck it out of the air.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked, following the Doctor back to where the Tardis was waiting for us.

He started running around the console "I'm tracking Donna. We have to get her away from that drone… Where are you going?"

I pointed to the doorway "I'm going to grab my phone real quick. I'll be back in a minute."

"Hurry," he sighed "I might need your help."

"Sure," I nodded, running to my room as quickly as I could. In the space of a minute, I was back in the console room. As soon as I entered, I could see the console sparking harshly and the Doctor hitting the Tardis with a hammer "You know, you really should stop hitting her…"

He glanced over his shoulder as the Tardis actually calmed down "It worked. That's all that matters."

"And that's exactly why she likes me better," I muttered, taking his place when he gestured.

"Keep this steady. I'll go and get Donna," he called, rushing to the door. The Doctor held onto the edge tightly "Open the door."

I could barely hear Donna's voice responding, muffled by the closed car door "Do what?"

"Open. The. Door," the Time Lord shouted before throwing a look at me "Tyra, up. Just a bit…"

"I can't," Donna cried back "It's locked." I heard the sound of the sonic before Donna's voice became clearer. I peeked over to the door, seeing the now open window through the gap between the Doctor and the door "Santa's a robot."

The Doctor sighed in exasperation "Donna, open the door."

"What for?" the woman frowned.

"You've got to jump," the Time Lord pointed out.

I didn't even have to imagine the look Donna shot the Doctor because her voice said it all "I'm not blinking flipping jumping. I'm supposed to get married."

"Crap," the Doctor cursed "Ty, you have to speed up."

"How?" I called back.

He glanced back "Just use the lever. The Tardis will do the rest. Hurry." I messed with the lever in my hand and hissed when one of the bangs from the console, burned my arm. From the sound of it, we bounced off the roof of a car but soon we got close enough again "Listen to me, Donna," the Doctor shouted over the sound of the wind "You've got to jump."

"I'm not jumping on the motorway," the woman huffed.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair and groaned lightly "Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now, come on."

"I'm in my wedding dress," Donna reminded.

"Yes," the Doctor shouted, his exasperation bleeding through "You look lovely. Come on."

Donna opened the door and let out a small scream "I can't do it."

"Trust me." The Time Lord held out his arms.

"Is that what you said to her?" Donna demanded "Your friend? The one you two lost? Did she trust you? Does your other friend trust you?"

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder again "Yes, Ty does and she did. And she is not dead. She is so alive. Now, jump." From my place I could see Donna launching herself out of the taxi, only to land on top of the Doctor "Let it go, Ty."

I was thrown away from the lever and hit the railing when the Tardis door slammed shut and she zoomed away. The Doctor came over to me, holding out his hand. I let him help me to my feet and prod at the already healing burn on my arm "I'm never going to do that again," I muttered, looking over his shoulder at Donna "You okay?"

"I was just kidnapped by a robot Santa." She crossed her arms "What do you think?"

I shrugged with a grin "Fair enough."

When the console started smoking more heavily, the Doctor herded the two girls outside "We better get out. The fumes aren't good," he muttered. He emptied a fire extinguisher in through the door, waving his hand at the mountains of smoke that escaped the door "The funny thing is – for a spaceship – she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours. You alright?"

"Doesn't matter," Donna mumbled, looking down at her watch sadly.

The Doctor bit his lip "Did we miss it?"

"Yeah," the red-haired woman nodded, blinking back the tears.

"Well, you can book another date," the Time Lord pointed out.

Donna nodded with a small sniff "Course we can."

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably "You've still got the honeymoon."

"It's just another holiday now," Donna muttered.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, realizing that maybe he was making it worse right now "Yeah. Sorry."

The woman shook her head "It's not your fault."

I looked over to her as the Doctor grinned "Oh? That's a change."

"Wish you had a time machine," Donna sighed longingly "Then we could go back and get it right."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, sending me a slightly panicked look "But even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline… Apparently."

Donna looked at him for a moment before she sat on the edge of the roof, looking out at St. Paul's Cathedral and the city beyond. I flopped down on her left side, getting my phone out of my pocket for comfort. Sitting while it was in the front pocket of my jeans was annoyingly tight. The Doctor took off his jacket, wrapping it would Donna's shoulder before sitting down to her right. Donna glanced down "God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat."

I glanced down at my phone, my breath catching at the sight of the photo that I had stupidly put as a lock screen background. It was one of the ones Kol took earlier… a few months ago? Henrik had his arms wrapped around me from behind and I was laughing at some stupid story he told me about him pranking Elijah when he was younger.

"Oh," the Doctor remembered, pulling something out of his pocket "You'd better put this on."

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna grumbled, looking at the simple golden band in the Doctor's hand.

The Time Lord grimaced apologetically "Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden. With this ring, I thee bio-damp."

"For better or for worse," Donna laughed tearily "So, come on then. Robot Santas, what are they for?"

"Ah, your basic robot-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in," the Doctor explained "I met them last Christmas."

Donna frowned "Why, what happened then?"

I looked up from looking through the pictures in surprise as the Doctor sent the redhead a confused look "Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?"

"I… had a bit of a hangover," Donna admitted.

The Doctor nodded towards one part of the city "I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate, with this family." He stopped and shifted quietly "My friend… She had this family. Well, they were…" The Time Lord let out a small snort "It was a pretty nice evening until we noticed that Tyra was missing."

"Missing?" Donna asked, glancing over to me. Her eyes caught on the screen of my phone "Who is that?" She grabbed the phone from my hands, studying the picture curiously.

"Henrik," I muttered "He is… was my twin brother."

The woman looked over at me "What happened?"

I shook my head "He died. A long time ago," I admitted "That… I…"

The Doctor took over when I trailed off "It's complicated. Very complicated."

"I'm sorry," Donna whispered "Not… Not for this." She handed back my phone "But for what I said to you. I – I shouldn't have called you a freak."

I shrugged "I've been called worse. Don't worry about it."

The red-haired woman shook her head "Still. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's honestly alright," I told her seriously.

"Can I ask… Why did you drink blood?" she questioned hesitatingly.

I raised my eyebrow "What do you think is the reason?"

"Vampire," she whispered uncertainly "You said you were human… That's the only thing that I could think of but that can't be right."

"Why not?" I asked, exchanging a glance with the Doctor.

Donna scoffed "Because they're just stories. They don't exist."

"There's more to the world, Donna," the Doctor said "But I have a question for you now "What do camouflaged robot mercenaries what with you? And how did you get inside the Tardis? I don't know… What's your job?"

Donna blinked a few times "I'm a secretary," she gave back, throwing me an uncomfortable look.

I ran a hand through my hair, getting up to walk back to where the Tardis was smoking behind us. The Doctor grabbed his sonic, scanning the woman again "It's weird," he mused "I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important."

"This friend of yours," Donna started, a glare once again on her face "Just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" She shoved his hand away from her "Stop bleeping me."

The Doctor did stop but continued his questioning "What kind of secretary?"

"I'm at HC Clements," the redhead explained "It's where I met Lance. I was temping…" She looked lost in memories from where I was standing "I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought that I'm never going to fit in here. And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee." She sighed dreamily "And Lance… He's the head of HR. He didn't need to bother with me. But he was nice, he was funny. And it turned out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him. One cup of coffee. That was it."

The Doctor held out his arm for me, waving me back over to them "When was this?"

"Six months ago," Donna said.

"Bit quick to get married," the Time Lord blinked in surprise, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, resting his head on my head.

Donna shrugged "Well, he insisted. And he nagged and he nagged me." I exchanged an amused look with the Doctor, knowing that it wasn't Lance who had been the one nagging "And he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in."

"What does HC Clements do?"

"Oh," the woman blinked out of her memories "Security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths."

The Doctor frowned "Keys…"

"Anyway, enough of my CV," Donna sighed before getting up "Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy."

"Yeah," the Doctor shook his head "I'm not from Mars."

Donna ignored him, letting out another small sigh "I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken."

Well, heartbroken wasn't the word I would use for what we walked in on a little while later. Everyone was dancing underneath a big disco ball, having a great time. As soon as the first person caught sight of Donna, everything stopped.

"You had the reception without me?" Donna asked incredulously. She had frozen as soon as she entered, glaring at a woman to the side until she was noticed.

A man who seemed to be the groom – Lance stepped forward "Donna, what happened to you?"

"You had the reception without me…" Donna repeated.

There was an awkward pause until the Doctor leaned forward to introduce himself as cheerfully as he could "Hello. I'm the Doctor."

Donne rounded on us, her hands on her hips "They had the reception without me."

"Yeah," I grimaced "You said that."

"Well, it was all paid for… why not?" a blonde woman who had been dancing with Lance earlier snapped arrogantly.

Donna glared "Thank you, Nerys."

"Ooh," I drawled quietly "You still haven't told me what you've done to her, Donna. Although… From what I can see I would probably have done something similar. Whatever it was that you did."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow "You… Are you rambling?"

I winced "Damn… You are rubbing off on me," I muttered, hitting the Doctor's arm as an older blonde woman approached angrily.

"Well, what were we suppose to do?" the older woman demanded "I got your silly little message in the end. 'I'm on Earth?' Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know." Everyone started talking at once, demanding what happened.

"Where were you the whole time?" Lance questioned.

Donna's eyes darted around at everyone and burst into tears. Everyone immediately shut up and Lance reached out, pulling her into his arms. From where her head was placed on her not-quite husband's shoulder, Donna winked at us, continuing to fake sob.

The Doctor shook his head with a small smile and wandered over to the bar as the party continued. Donna had started dancing with her not-quite-husband "Can I borrow your phone for a moment?" he asked loudly.

"You really should invest in your own," I shook my hand but handed it over. The Doctor looked at the background picture for a short moment before a smile crossed his face. He tapped the Internet symbol and quickly typed in HC Clements. The phone cycled through websites extremely fast when he started using his sonic on it until a window popped up "Oh… Great." HC Clements belonged to Torchwood. Somehow I really wasn't surprised that they had something to do with this. Even if it didn't exist anymore. They had done so many things behind the scenes that it was a surprise that we had never heard of them before the other day.

"Do you see what I see?" the Time Lord asked, staring out into the crowd.

I frowned for a moment "What?" Then I saw what he had. There was a guy with a video camera, recording the dancing people "Do you think he recorded it?"

"Let's find out," the Doctor shrugged, making his way through the crowd.

When he asked, the man nodded "I taped the whole thing. They've all had a look." He wound the tape back to the right time, still talking "They said 'sell it to You've Been Framed.' I said 'more like the News'. Here we are…" The cameraman placed the tape, the camera zooming in on Donna's face as she disintegrated into golden energy that flew off through the roof of the church.

"Can't be," the Doctor shook his head sharply "Play it again?"

"Clever, mind," the man shrugged "Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping."

I looked at the Time Lord, seeing his expression "What is it?"

"That looks like Huon Particles," the Doctor explained.

The cameraman raised his eyebrow "What's that then?"

"That's impossible," the Doctor blinked "That's ancient… Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years. So old…" He closed his eyes, dread settling over his face "So old that it can't be hidden by a bio-damper." With that said, the Doctor ran outside. I followed him and stopped short when I saw several Santas approaching "Donna," the Time Lord shouted, vaulting over a railing, running up to the red-haired woman "Donna, they've found you."

"But you said it was safe," she gasped.

The Doctor shook his head "The bio-damper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out."

"My God," Donna breathed "It's all my family."

"Out the back door," the Doctor waved. He froze though when he saw more robots out there "Maybe not, then."

I grabbed his arm "There are more." I pointed out the French windows.

Donna shivered "We're trapped."

The Doctor groaned out loud when he saw the remote one of them was holding "Christmas trees," he called out in alarm.

Donna blinked in confusion "What about them?"

"They kill," I told her, rubbing at my chest when I remembered the last time. That tree really did a number on me.

"Get away from the trees," the Doctor called out, jumping over tables and chairs to herd the people back and away from the wall the trees were at.

"Don't touch the trees," Donna agreed, shooing her family away.

I joined in helping them push the people away and the Doctor rolled his eyes when no one listened to them "Get away from the Christmas trees. Everyone get away from them. Everyone stay away from the trees. Stay away from the trees."

"Oh, for God's sakes," the woman who I assumed was Donna's mother, judging by her earlier comment rolled her eyes "The man's an idiot. Why? What harm's a Christmas tree going to…" The plastic baubles were floating off the trees "Oh."

I sighed "Well, at least it's not spinning this time."

"I don't think this is much better," the Doctor pointed out as the baubles started zooming at people, exploding as soon as they hit something. Everyone started panicking as one man was thrown into the air, landing squarely on the wedding cake. Donna had ducked underneath a table, holding onto Lance tightly "Oi. Santa!" the Doctor shouted out as all six of the robots lined up in front of the bar "Word of advice. If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver, don't let him near the sound system." He jammed his screwdriver into the deck, causing me to quickly raise my hands to my ears. The pain from the resulting high-pitched tones made me hit the ground and curl into a ball while the robots started falling apart.

"It's alright, Stan," an older man murmured, patting another man's back "It's all over."

"Ty," the Doctor called out, falling to his knees next to me "Are you alright?"

I still had my hands clutched over my ears but now that the sound was gone, the pain was quickly leaving "You asshole," I hissed, glaring at the Doctor.

He held up his hands "Sorry, but this was the only thing I could think of. Come on." The Time Lord pulled me to my feet easily, leading me over to the broken down robots "Look at that." He picked up the remote "Remote control for the decorations but there's a second remote control for the robots." His hand uncovered one of the heads, revealing a blinking plate in the place the brain was "They're not just scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

"Never mind that," Donna snapped "You're a doctor. People have been hurt."

"Nah, they wanted you alive," the Doctor shook his head "Look." He threw one of the baubles to the woman, slipping the remote into his pocket "They're not active now."

Donna stared down at the ornament "All I'm saying, you could help."

The Doctor jumped up "Got to think of the bigger picture. There's still a signal." He grabbed my hand again and tugged me outside with him, following the signal with the help of his sonic. Either it was my imagination or he was becoming a lot more touchy-feely. The number of times he had taken my hand or thrown his arm around me was higher than the past two years together. Not that I minded. It was quite nice actually… "There's something behind this, directing the roboforms," the Doctor explained as soon as Donna joined us.

"But why is it me?" Donna asked quietly "What have I done?"

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out," the Doctor pointed out, letting his screwdriver wander up until it was pointing at the sky "Ooh. It's up there. Something in the sky." He continued scanning but when the ambulances arrived a few moments later, he grumbled "I've lost the signal. Donna, we've got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that's where it all started." The Doctor looked around until his eyes landed on Lance "Lance," he called out "It is Lance? Lance, can you give me a lift?"

I rolled my eyes when he just ran off and looked to Donna's not-quite husband "Sorry about him," I offered "But if you could… That would be great."

Lance looked at Donna before he sighed "Alright. Where to?" he asked.

With Lance driving to HC Clements it didn't take us long to reach the office building and when we entered, I turned to the man who had gotten nervous all of a sudden. His heart was beating quite loudly and I narrowed my eyes on him which seemingly made him even more nervous "To you this might just be a locksmith but HC Clements was brought up twenty-three years ago by the Torchwood Institute," the Doctor spoke up as soon as they had reached Donna's desk.

"Who are they?" Donna asked.

"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf," the Time Lord pointed out. When Donna sent him a clueless look he raised his eyebrow "Cybermen Invasion. Skies over London full of Daleks?"

Donna shook her head "Oh, I was in Spain."

I snorted at the Doctor's look of exasperation "They had Cybermen in Spain."

"Scuba diving," the woman gave back.

"The bigger picture, Donna," the Doctor sighed "You keep on missing it. Torchwood was destroyed but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation."

Donna tilted her head "But what do they want with me?"

"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy," the Doctor pointed out. My head snapped up when Lance's heart skipped several beats. Oh, this was going to be a nightmare. I was about to mention something when the Doctor continued "And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark Times. The only place you'd find Huon particles now is a remnant in the heart of the Tardis. See? That's what happened. Say, that's the Tardis." He picked up a coffee mug "And that's you." A pencil "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and what." He shook the mug and the pencil before dropping the pencil inside "You were pulled inside the Tardis."

Donna blinked at the display in front of her "I'm a pencil in a mug?"

The Doctor sent her a huge grin "Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." He whirled around to Lance "Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

"I don't know," the man lied through his teeth, his heart fluttering "I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager. Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"

The Doctor finally got a computer screen to work, getting it to display the plans of the building "They make keys," he pointed out "That's the point. And look at this. We're on the third floor." He whirled around, jogging over to the elevator "Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes? Then how come when you look in the lift, there's a button marked lower basement? There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So… What's down there?"

Lance shifted, crossing his arms "Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?"

"No," the Doctor shook his head "I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor."

"It needs a key," Donna pointed out.

The Doctor smirked "I don't." He then used the screwdriver on the lower basement button "Right then. Thanks, you two. Tyra and I can handle this. See you later."

"No chance, Martian," Donna scoffed, getting into the elevator with us "You're the man who keeps saving my life. I ain't letting you out of my sight."

The Doctor shrugged at her determination "Going down."

"Lance?"

The man looked uncomfortable with his eyes darting all over "Maybe I should go to the police."

Donna crossed her arms "Inside." Lance quickly joined us before the doors closed.

"To honour and obey?" the Doctor joked.

Lance snorted and for the first time, he seemed to be actually telling the truth "Tell me about it, mate."

"Oi," Donna exclaimed as the elevator descended, stopping with a low ping. We all stepped out into a long, dark and dank corridor that was very dimly lit in an eerie green light "Where are we? Well, what does on down here?"

The Doctor grinned, waggling his eyebrows "Let's find out."

"Do you think Mister Clements knows about this place?" the red-haired woman questioned, walking forward.

The Doctor joined her "The mysterious HC Clements? I think he's part of it."

I glanced at Lance and quickly wrapped my arm around his neck from behind, my hand muffling his sound of protest. A minute later, the man slumped in my arms and I let him fall to the ground with a thud. I had no doubt that he was the one who had given Donna the Huon particles and if he hadn't, he at the very least knew what was going on here. I walked up to Donna and the Doctor while they were getting on two Segways "What are you…?"

"Hold on," Donna spoke up, looking around "Where's Lance?"

I shrugged "Said he wanted to stay behind. I'm not getting on that thing…"

"Alright," the redhead shrugged, getting the Segway to move forward.

I laughed at them practically crawling along the corridor and walked along next to the Doctor, not even having to pick up my speed. When Donna started giggling, the Doctor leaned down to me "What did you do?"

"Knocked him out," I told him "He knows something, Doc. Lance has been lying since we entered this building."

"Yeah," the Doctor mumbled. A moment later, we arrived at a bulkhead door labelled Torchwood in big, bold letters. Authorised personnel only. The Time Lord turned the wheel, opening the door to reveal a ladder "Donna, Tyra, wait here. Just need to get my bearings." He waved his finger in Donna's face "Don't do anything." And to me "Don't wander off."

I huffed at him "I'm not the one who always wanders off."

"You better come back," Donna warned him.

The Doctor started up the ladder "I couldn't get rid of you if I tried."

As soon as he was out of sight, the red-haired woman turned to me "So, how long have you known the Doctor?"

"Oh, erm… About two years now," I answered, quickly trying to get an estimated time "It's a bit hard to tell with him sometimes."

Donna nodded "And…"

"Thames flood barrier right on top of us," the Doctor called out, jumping down the last few rungs of the ladder "Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."

The redhead opened and closed her mouth a few times "What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?"

"Oh, I know," the Doctor clucked jokingly "Unheard of." He turned and lead the way through a door and into some sort of laboratory at the end of the hall. There were massive tubes bubbling away and some chemistry equipment set up here and there "Oh, look at this," the Doctor marvelled "Stunning."

Donna reached out to touch the device in confusion "What does it do?"

"Particle extrusion," the Time Lord explained "Hold on." He ran over to another tube "They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Course, my people got rid of Huons. They unravel the atomic structure… But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river. Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result." The Doctor grabbed a vial with a clear liquid inside "Huon particles in liquid form."

"And that's what's inside of me?" Donna whispered. The Doctor nodded, turning a knob on top of the container, causing the liquid to glow gold. Not even a second later, Donna started glowing as well "Oh, my God."

The Time Lord shook his head "Genius. Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then… Ha!" The Doctor jumped backwards "The wedding," he exclaimed "Yes, you're getting married, that's it. Best day of your life, walking down the aisle. Oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine. Wham! go the endorphins. Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven. A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away. The particles reach the boiling point. Shazam." A slap rang through the room again and the Doctor turned back to Donna "What did I do this time?"

I raised a hand to my head in exasperation "You don't learn, do you?"

"Are you enjoying this?" Donna demanded "Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

The Doctor nodded quickly, too quickly "Yes."

"Doctor," Donna raised her eyebrow "If your lot got rid of Huon particles… Why did they do that?"

"Because they were deadly," the Time Lord admitted, his voice low.

Donna stumbled back a few steps, raising a shaking hand to her mouth "Oh, my God."

"I'll sort it out, Donna," the Doctor assured her, squeezing her shoulders gently "Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. I am not about to lose someone else."

" _Oh, she is long since lost,_ " a voice rang out from somewhere above.

The Doctor looked at me but I shrugged "Nothing inside this room other than us." A wall in front of us slid up to reveal a tiered hole descending into the Earth "Urgh. Deja vu."

" _I have waited so long,_ " the voice murmured longingly " _Hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken._ "

The Time Lord walked forward, glancing down into the hole, ignoring the robots that were pointing their guns at us "Someone's been digging. Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser." He looked up at the ceiling "How far down does it go?"

" _Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth,_ " the voice answered.

"Really?" the Doctor blinked "Seriously? What for?"

Donna looked at the hole in consideration "Dinosaurs."

"What?" the Doctor frowned, turning around to face the woman dressed in white.

Donna shrugged unsurely "Dinosaurs?"

"How did you get dinosaurs?" I asked with a small grin.

"That film," Donna murmured "Under the Earth with dinosaurs." She held up her hands at the look the Doctor shot her "Trying to help."

He shook his head "That's not helping."

" _Such a sweet couple,_ " the voice cooed mockingly.

"Only a madman talks to thin air," the Doctor called out "And trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"

The voice turned breathy " _High in the sky. Floating so high on Christmas night._ "

The Doctor rolled his eyes "I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom. Come on, let's have a look at you."

" _Who are you with such command?_ " the voice demanded.

"I'm the Doctor."

" _Prepare your best medicines, doctor man, for you will be sick at heart._ " With those words, a blue light started up on the other side of the hole and a giant, red spider appeared.

"Racnoss?" the Time Lord breathed "But that's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss?"

I grimaced "I hate spiders…"

"Empress of the Racnoss," the spider corrected with a hiss.

It was then that I heard footsteps from somewhere close to where the creepily huge spider was standing and raised my eyebrow when I saw Lance. The Doctor tilted his head "If you're the Empress. Where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind," the Empress complimented mockingly.

"That's it, the last of your kind," the Doctor mumbled, his tone sad "The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores, omnivores. They devoured whole planets."

The Empress reared up "Racnoss are born starving. Is that our fault?"

"They eat people?" Donna breathed horrified.

The Doctor stared to the side, to a wall next to the Racnoss' head, I didn't make an effort to check what the Doctor was looking for, since my eyes were still trained on the man I had knocked unconscious not half an hour ago "HC Clements," the Time Lord started "Did he wear those – those er, black and white shoes?"

"He did," Donna nodded with a grin "We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats." The Doctor pointed to a pair of feet sticking out of tons of web across the ceiling, wearing black and white shoes "Oh, my God."

The Empress hummed happily "Mm. My Christmas dinner."

"You shouldn't even exist," the Doctor pointed out "Way back in history, the fledgeling Empires went to war against the Racnoss they were wiped out."

By now, Lance had reached the balcony above the Empress, holding up an axe. The Empress hissed angrily "Except for me."

Donna's eyes widened when she saw Lance up on the platform "But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing," she murmured, trying to stall. I was about to mention something when the Doctor shook his head at me "Oi! Look at me, lady. I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look at me in the eye and tell me."

"The bride is so feisty," the Empress laughed. Lance was sneaking up on the Empress, holding up the axe and looking like he was getting ready to take a swipe.

Donna nodded hurriedly "Yes, I am. And I don't know what you are, you bit thing but a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe." She stared at Lance "Now, do it."

"A spider is a spider?" I repeated in amusement.

But the smile was wiped from my face when Lance started laughing, dropping the axe "That was a good one. Your face."

"Lance is funny," the Empress laughed.

"What?" Donna breathed, staring at the scene in front of her in pain.

The Doctor looked at her sadly "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" the redhead demanded "Lance, don't be stupid. Get her."

Lance rolled his eyes and glared down at us "God, she's thick. Months I've had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."

"Better than a lying slimeball," I shot back with a sneer.

Donna shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes "I don't understand," she breathed, her voice sounding so little.

I shifted "Donna… He has been lying to you from the start."

"How?"

"He made you coffee," the Doctor pointed out.

Donna blinked "What?"

Lance sighed in annoyance "Every day, I made you coffee."

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months," the Doctor told her tightly.

"He was poisoning me," Donna realized.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair as I continued glaring at Lance "It was all there in the job title," the Time Lord shrugged "The Head of Human Resources." When the man caught my gaze, he actually stepped back, his expression betraying the fact that he was apprehensive when it came to me.

"This time, it's personal," Lance smirked.

Donna stared up at him in disbelief, still not quite understand what was going on. No, that wasn't right. She did understand but it hadn't hit her yet "But we were getting married."

"Well," Lance shrugged unconcernedly "I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap. Oh, Brad and Angelina. Is Posh pregnant? X-Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me. Dear God, the never-ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia. I deserve a medal."

The Doctor shook his head at the man "Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you, her consort?"

"Wait," I raised my hand "I… Don't spiders eat their mates?"

"It's better than a night with her," Lance pointed out with an ugly grimace.

Donna let out a low sob "But I love you."

"That's what made it easy," the man dismissed "It's like you said, Doctor. The big picture. What's the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think out of everyone the two of you understand that, don't you, Doctor?" He opened his mouth to include me to but then decided otherwise, just focussing his attention on the Doctor. Not that I minded. If he talked to me any more, I would probably just try to kill him… For real this time.

The Empress narrowed her eyes "Who is this little physician?"

"She said Martian," Lance shrugged.

The Doctor sighed, throwing Donna a slightly exasperated look. Even if was exactly what the Doctor needed. Better to be seen as Martian than to have her know where he really was from "Oh, I'm sort of homeless," he started, pacing closer to the hole in the ground "But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's going to help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

"I think he wanted us to talk," Lance snorted in amusement.

The Empress nodded "I think so too."

"Well, tough," the man hissed, pointing to Donna "All we need is Donna."

"Kill this chattering little doctor man and the other girl," the Empress commanded.

Donna shook her head, inching in front of the Doctor "Don't hurt him."

I grabbed onto her arm and shook my head "Don't."

"No, I won't let them," she told me.

"At arms," the Empress shouted, causing the robots to point their guns at the Doctor and me.

The Doctor held up his arms, his speech speeding up "Ah, now… Except."

"Take aim." I pulled the Doctor back towards me, making sure to stay between him and the robots again. I felt like I was doing that almost every day by now… But that was the advantage of not being able to die from that.

"Well," the Doctor started "I just want to point out the obvious…"

The Empress tilted her head "They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots."

"Just… Just… Just… Hold on, just a tick," the Doctor hurried, almost stumbling over his words "Just a tiny… Just a little… tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship… So if I reverse it, and the spaceship should come to her." The Time Lord turned the knob on the Huon container and the particles inside the bottle and Donna glowed.

As the Tardis materialised around us, the Empress shouted "Fire."

"Off we go," the Doctor shouted, racing to the console.

Outside, I could hear the Empress crying out "My key. My key…"

Donna walked over to the console, sitting down with her back to the Doctor. The Time Lord ran around, putting in coordinates and flipping switches "Oh, you know what I said about time machines?" he mumbled to Donna "Well, I lied. And now we're going to use it." I moved over to the dejected woman, not quite sure what to do "We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto Bene! I've always wanted to see this."

I slowly reached out for Donna "I'm pretty bad at comforting people in situations I don't know what to do," I admitted "But then again… The more I see people getting their heart broken, the more I don't ever want that to happen to me."

Donna sniffed a little before actually leaning into my embrace "You've never been in love?" the woman questioned quietly.

"I… Don't know, actually. Well, no. I don't think so," I shrugged "Maybe? I just never got the chance to experience much… love."

"That's just as sad," Donna scoffed, turning her head into my shoulder. I sighed, rubbing her back as she kindly watered all over me.

The Tardis quieted down, having reached its destination. The Doctor peered around the console, catching my eye "We've arrived," he smiled lightly "Want to see?"

"I suppose," Donna mumbled, not moving from where she was sitting.

"That scanner's a bit small," the Doctor murmured looking at the monitor "Maybe your way's the best." He walked over to the door "Come on. No human's ever seen this… You'll be the first."

I got up, pulling the woman up with me while she complained tiredly "All I want to see it my bed."

The Doctor stepped to the side, revealing the outside "Donna Noble, Tyra Mikaelson, welcome to the creation of the Earth." Lumps of rock were floating around a dust-covered sun. The sun was different though… The light was a lot less normal, rather it glowed slightly red "We're gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That's the Sun, over there." He pointed at the large star "Brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked, looking around.

"All around us," the Doctor gestured "In the dust."

Donna sighed "Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right… We're just tiny."

"No but that's what you do," the Doctor murmured with a grin. How he could still be so in love with the human race, I'll never know. He had seen so many bad things happening. Hell, I had seen a lot of bad things happening and I wouldn't have bothered anymore. Not until I met the Doctor "The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful but only if it's being observed."

Donna stared at the dust "So I came out of all this?"

"Isn't that brilliant?" the Doctor grinned.

A large rock drifted past, causing Donna to let out a snort "I think that's the Isle of Wight."

The Time Lord pointed to the rocks that were drifting towards each other "Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in. Everything, piling in until you get…"

"The Earth," Donna nodded.

"But the question is… What was that first rock?" the Doctor mused.

A seven-pointed star came out of the dust cloud and I tapped the Doctor's shoulder "I think we just found it."

"The Racnoss…" the Doctor breathed before rushing back to the console, turning the wheel frantically "Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?"

The rocks and particles of dust and gas started to zoom past. As if they were drawn to the Racnoss by magnetic force "Exactly what you said would happen," I gave back "They're drawing in the rocks."

"Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth," the Doctor groaned "They became the centre of the Earth. The first rock." The Time Lord looked up, stunned as the Tardis started shuddering violently, nearly knocking us off our feet.

"What was that?" Donna shouted, holding onto one of the corals. I quickly shut the doors, trying to stop any of us from being thrown into space.

The Doctor looked up "Trouble." The Tardis continued to shudder and shake, throwing us all over.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna demanded, trying to make her way over to the Doctor as the shaking became worse.

"Remember that little trick of mine?" the Time Lord called back "Particles pulling particles? Well, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back."

I caught Donna when she came stumbling past me and rolled my eyes sarcastically "Of course, they are. Why wouldn't they?"

"Well, can't you stop it?" Donna frowned "Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"

The Doctor let out a sigh "Backseat driver," he complained "Oh. Wait a minute… The extrapolator." He pulled out the pan-dimensional surfboard… "It can't stop us but it should give us a good bump."

"You still have that?" I asked "I thought you would have gotten rid of it after what happened in Cardiff."

Donna raised her eyebrow curiously "What happened in Cardiff?"

"What did you do to Nerys?" I shot back.

The Time Lord had his trusted hammer in his hand, getting ready to use it "Now," he shouted, causing us to dematerialise and materialise "We're about two hundred yards to the right." We were in the lower basement corridor again "Come on."

Donna ran after him, holding up her skirt "But what do we do?"

"I don't know," the Doctor shook his head. He put a stethoscope to the door, listening to what was behind it "I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got a history."

"But I still don't understand," Donna shook her head "I'm full of particles… But what for?"

"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth," the Doctor began, starting another rambling explanation "But my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck."

I whirled around when I heard something move and gasped quietly when something was thrust into my side. One of the robots was standing in front of me, a knife in its hand while another had grabbed Donna from behind, covering her mouth. I sank to my knees, trying to draw in a breath but it was proving difficult as the knife had nicked my lung "Doc… Doctor," I gasped, finally getting the man to stop.

"They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput. So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles. They need you to open it, Donna and… and you have never been so quiet." He turned around to look behind him only to notice that Donna was gone and I was still gasping for breath on the ground "Ty…"

I scrambled to pull the knife out but my fingers continued to slip from it, blood all over my hands "Get… out…"

The Time Lord reached out, to grab a hold of the knife "I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling it out with a quick movement. I let out a low scream, pitching forward to land against his side "Are you alright?"

"I… will… be," I nodded, my breathing becoming easier "Robots took Donna."

The Doctor helped me up, letting me lean against him to regain my balance. He opened the door with the sonic only to find another robot pointing its gun at us "Really?" he sighed, making quick work of it "Let's go and get Donna." The Time Lord grabbed the robot's cloak before hurrying to the drilling site.

As we entered, I could see the Huon particles leaving both Donna and Lance who had been strung up directly over the deep hole "The secret heart unlocks," the Empress exclaims "And they will waken from their Sleep of Ages."

"Who will?" Donna shouted "What's down there?"

The Doctor leaned down to my height "Stay here," he breathed "I'll go and distract the Empress and get Donna."

"Alright," I nodded, stepping back into the shadows underneath the metal staircase.

Lance shot Donna an annoyed look "How thick are you?"

"My children," the Racnoss explained, ignoring the humans' fight "The long lost Racnoss, now reborn to feast on flesh. The web star shall come to me." I shivered when I heard many legs climbing up the hole. I really didn't like spiders. The tiny ones were alright but… No, just no "My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

"Use her," Lance shouted hysterically, fighting against the bonds "Use her."

The Empress sent the man a feral grin "Oh, my funny little Lance. But you are quite impolite to your lady friend. The Empress does not approve." The web released Lance, causing him to fall into the hole.

"Lance," Donna called after him, still scared for him. And she would be. She did love him after all… Even if he was an asshole.

The Empress reared up "Harvest the humans. Reduce them to meat. My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them." Her head snapped around to the disguised Doctor walking up the steps above me "So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor man."

The Doctor removed the mask and robe he had taken earlier and sighed "Oh well. Nice try," he shrugged "I've got you, Donna."

"But Doctor… Tyra," Donna called out "They stabbed her."

"Hold on," the Doctor smiled, pointing his sonic at the woman.

The web started to give away and Donna let out a scream "I'm going to fall."

"You're going to swing," the Time Lord called up "I've got you."

Donna swung across the hole with a shrill scream, past the Empress. When I saw her coming in lower than the Doctor had expected, I shot forward, catching her "You good?" I asked, steadying her.

"You… But they stabbed you," the redhead stuttered, throwing her arms around me.

"I'm a bit more resilient than people might think," I shrugged with a grin.

The Empress hissed in annoyance "The doctor man amuses me."

"Empress of the Racnoss," the Doctor spoke up, the Oncoming Storm lurking just beneath the surface "I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now."

"These men are so funny," the Empress chuckled.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "What's your answer?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline," the Empress smirked.

"What happens next is your own doing," the Doctor warned, setting his face determinedly.

The Empress scoffed "I'll show you what happens next. At arms," she shouted "Take aim. And…"

"Relax," the Doctor finished, causing the robots to slump.

Donna let out a gasp "What did you do?"

"Guess what I've got, Donna," the Doctor grinned, pulling out the remote he had slipped in earlier "Pockets."

"How did that fit in there?"

I patted her shoulder "Bigger on the inside. Mine are too," I told her, gesturing to the jacket I was wearing.

Donna stared at my jacket for a moment before she reached out, slipping her hand inside "That's… That's just…"

"Roboforms are not necessary," the Empress recovered "My children may feast on Martian flesh."

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars," the Doctor tilted his head.

The Empress stopped "Then where?"

The Time Lord looked her dead in the eyes "My home planet is long since gone but its name lives on." He paused dramatically "Gallifrey."

"They murdered the Racnoss," the Empress exclaimed, rearing away from the Doctor some more.

"I warned you," the Doctor pointed out "You did this." He pulled out some of the Christmas tree decorations from another pocket, throwing the baubles in the air as the Empress started shaking her head, pleading. With the remote, he directed them, blowing several holes in the corridor wall, letting the Thames in whilst the others surrounded the Empress. Fires broke out everywhere and manhole covers burst under the pressure of the water rushing in.

"No," the Empress shouted in despair as water flooded down the hole, bringing alien screams from far down "No. My children! No, my children. My children."

Donna stared up at the Time Lord, a horrified expression on her face "Why aren't you stopping him?" she hissed before addressing the Doctor "Doctor… You can stop now."

"My children."

That shout seemed to rip him out of his trance "Come on." He jerked his head up "Time I got you out." I herded Donna to the stairs, letting her go up in front of me. The Doctor helped the dress-clad woman climb over the rubble before holding out his hand for me. I shivered at the coldness of the water and followed the other two up the stairs.

Underneath us, between the water and the flames, the Racnoss leaned her head back to the ceiling "Transport me."

"But what about the Empress?" Donna called out, looking down from her spot on the ladder.

The Doctor glanced back down as well "She's used up all her Huon energy. She's defenceless." He reached the top and climbed out in time to reveal the fireworks. Tanks had fired at the spaceship which caused it to explode over Canary Wharf.

I sat down on the edge of the manhole cover while the other two stood next to me. Donna cleared her throat once she was more or less steady "Just there's one problem…"

"What is that?" the Time Lord frowned.

Donna pointed to the side, drawing our attention to the very much empty river "We've drained the Thames."

A little while later, we were parked just outside of Donna's house. Across the street "There we go," the Doctor nodded, patting the Tardis' side "Told you she'd be alright. She can survive anything."

Donna hummed "More than I've done."

The Time Lord quickly scanned her with the sonic "No, all the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine."

"Yeah, but apart from that," the redhead shrugged "I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of."

I looked up at her "He would have been still alive if he hadn't been an idiot. I mean… He kinda walked right into that."

"Tyra," the Doctor warned "Be nice."

"He deserved it," Donna mumbled before she stopped "No, he didn't. I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

The Doctor nodded "Best Christmas present they could have." Inside the house, Donna's mother and grandfather hugged "Oh, no. I forgot you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do."

"Even if it snows?" the Time Lord questioned, reaching into the Tardis. The lamp on top of the blue box turned yellow and fired off a bolt of energy into the sky which caused an instant snow shower.

Donna laughed in shocked surprise "I can't believe you did that."

"I can," I snorted, leaning my head against the Time Lord's shoulder. I hadn't been very talk active today just because I was still hung up over the fact that I lost Henrik for a third time now. I thought last time was bad enough… This time was way worse and I couldn't stop looking at the pictures I had of him now.

"Basic atmospheric excitation," the Doctor shrugged his chin on my head. It still annoyed me how easily he was doing that. I wasn't that small.

"Merry Christmas," Donna mumbled.

The Time Lord looked at the woman "And you. So, what will you do with yourself?"

"Not getting married, for starters," the red-haired huffed.

I grinned "That's a good idea, I guess."

"And I'm not going to temp anymore," she continued "I don't know. Travel? See a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something."

The Doctor looked down at me for a moment before turning back to Donna "Well, you could always…"

"What?"

"Come with us?" he shrugged.

Donna bit her lip "No."

"Okay," the Doctor nodded, his arms tightening around me.

The redhead sighed "I can't."

"You're fine," I told her "It's up to you."

"No, but really," the woman cut me off before I could say anything else "Everything we did today. Do you live your lives like that?"

The Time Lord shook his head "Not all the time."

"I think you do. And I couldn't," Donna told him.

"But you've seen it out there," the Doctor pointed out "It's beautiful. Isn't it, Ty?"

I nodded "It really is. But Doctor…"

"It's terrible," Donna cut in again "That place was flooding and burning and they were dying… And you were stood there like, I don't know, a stranger. And then you made it snow. I mean, you scare me to death."

I stiffened at her words, knowing how it impacted the Doctor "Donna…"

"And you," she turned to me "I'm still not sure whether to believe you or not but… I wanted to apologize again. For the way, I acted in the beginning. Towards both of you."

"It's alright," I shrugged "I probably would have reacted similarly."

The Doctor flicked my ear "Somehow I doubt that."

Donna stared at me for a moment before she shook her head "Tell you what I will do, though. Christmas dinner." The Doctor looked at her unmoved "Oh, come on."

"I don't do what sort of thing," he denied.

"You did it last year," the redhead pointed out "You said so. And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty."

The Doctor hummed "Tyra doesn't celebrate Christmas. I don't want her to spend the evening alone again." He pinched me "Not like last year."

"In your defence… You were kind of busy," I told him.

"Why don't you celebrate Christmas?" Donna frowned in confusion.

I pointed to myself "I'm Viking. We don't do Christmas."

"Viking? No, never mind. Come on," the redhead pleaded "Please?"

I looked at her and then up at the Doctor "You can go but I won't celebrate Christmas. Not if I don't have to."

The Time Lord looked at me in consideration before he sighed in defeat "Oh, alright then. If you're sure, Ty…" He looked to Donna "But you go first. Better warn them and… Don't say I'm a Martian." He gestured back to the Tardis "I just have to park her properly. She might drift off to the Middle Ages. I'll see you in a minute."

"You're terrible," I snorted, following him to the console.

He started up the engines, ready to take off when we heard Donna's voice through the door "Doctor! Tyra!"

The Doctor shut the Tardis down again, sticking his head out of the doors "Blimey, you can shout."

"Am I ever going to see you again?" the red-haired woman questioned softly.

"If I'm lucky," the Time Lord shrugged.

Donna smiled at him "Just promise me one thing… Keep Tyra around? She's good for you. Because I think sometimes… You need someone to stop you."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed quietly "Thanks, then, Donna. Good luck. And… just be magnificent."

"I think I will," the woman nodded determinedly "Doctor?"

He rolled his eyes in mock annoyance "Oh, what is it now?"

"That friend of yours. What was her name?"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment "Rose," he finally replied "Her name was Rose." With that, he closed the door behind him, walking right up to the console, getting us into the Time Vortex before falling onto the jump seat.

I bit my lip "Are you alright?"

"I miss her, you know?" he spoke up.

"I know," I whispered, leaning my head against his tiredly.

The Doctor looked up at me "You should go to bed."

"Yeah," I mumbled reluctantly "I should. Goodnight, Doctor."

"Goodnight."

I tossed and turned in my bed for what felt like hours when I finally threw off the blankets, getting up. For some reason, I was feeling extremely restless and couldn't lie still long enough for me to fall asleep, even though I was tired enough to fall asleep standing.

I wandered through the hallways of the Tardis until I had reached the Chinese garden that I hadn't been in for quite a while. The peaceful atmosphere of it almost immediately relaxed me, so I curled up on a bridge that was over a small river towards the back behind the Pavilion. I had never actually seen it before so maybe the Tardis had added it recently. Who knew with her…

My feet were dangling over the edge, my bare toes just brushing the warm water lightly as my eyes kept drifting close.

"You're going to drown if you go on like that," the Doctor pointed out with amusement shining in his eyes "What are you doing here?"

I raised my shoulders in a shrug "Couldn't sleep."

He sat down next to me with a sigh "Does it have anything to do with you not talking much yesterday?"

"I did talk," I protested weakly.

"Yes but you preferred to keep quiet," the Doctor pointed out "I thought we were done with that after I regenerated?"

I sighed, tugging at my hair violently "Yes… No… I don't know, okay? I thought I could handle it but I can't."

The Time Lord's eyes softened and he pulled me against him, ignoring my protests "You're talking about seeing him again, aren't you?"

"Yeah," I breathed "I honestly don't know how Rose could do it. Just seeing him once in the parallel world was enough… How could she actually want to watch her father die?"

"Well, she did quite badly at that," the Doctor shrugged, resting his chin on my head.

I sniffed "I'm just… I'm so tired of being alone. My whole family leaves me sooner or later and I don't know what to do about it."

"They love you," the Time Lord argued "Niklaus loves you, even the parallel Mikaelsons cared for you."

"But why don't they care enough to stay?" I asked in a small voice "Nik has been daggering me for centuries, Kol and Finn left me and the other two… Sometimes I think they don't even care about me."

The Doctor tilted his head "Kol and Finn didn't leave voluntarily. I don't know about Elijah and… Was it Rebekah? But I can tell you that Niklaus does love you in his own way. I don't know his reasons for sticking daggers into you but maybe that's something you should talk to him about when you next see him?"

"That doesn't matter," I shook my head "I'm just so sick of being treated like I'm nothing…"

"Hey," the Doctor frowned, tilting my head up to look me in the eyes "Where does that come from?"

My mind flashed back to Rose before I shook my head "Just… Memories," I mumbled. I didn't want to tell him how Rose treated me. It was done with after all… He had fond memories of her and it wouldn't be fair of me to destroy them.

"Come on," the Time Lord groaned, getting up. He held out his hand for me to take.

"Where are we going?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrow "You're going to sleep, missy. You looked like a ghost…"

"Thanks," I rolled my eyes sarcastically but let him lead me to my room.


	17. Smith and Jones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys... I have a problem...
> 
> I can't wait till I reach Series 4 or at least the end of Series 3. That's probably why I'm updating so much although it will most likely slow down again sometime soon but enjoy it while it lasts.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

I walked into the orthopaedic ward of the hospital after slipping out for a bit while the Doctor was fake napping. As soon as I entered I saw a group of people in lab coats surrounding the Time Lord's hospital bed. Why he had decided to actually check in and not just hang around, I didn't know. Especially with the small issue of him having two heart. But then again… he couldn't have persuaded me into admitting since I was just as likely to get noticed. Maybe not just as likely but then again, my heartbeat was a lot slower than that of a human. It was enough to raise suspicion at the very least.

"Now then, Mister Smith," Doctor Stoker nodded as I joined the Time Lord, sitting down in the chair that was waiting for me. I only knew the doctor's name because he was the one who had examined the Doctor yesterday "A very good morning to you. How are you today?"

The Doctor who had been looking at me with a raised eyebrow turned to face the man "Oh, not so bad. Still a bit, you know, blah." He grimaced as he said that.

Stoker turned to the group with him "John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me."

A dark-skinned woman I had briefly seen earlier walked forward "That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?" I stood up when she went to stand on the side I was sitting, retreating a little so she could access the Doctor better.

"Sorry?" the Doctor blinked in confusion.

"On Chancellor Street this morning?" the medical student frowned "You came up to me and took your tie off."

I crossed my arms, sending the Doctor a mocking frown "Did you sneak out without me again?"

"Ty," the Doctor exclaimed in annoyance before looking up at the other girl "I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses. Or Tyra when she stops being a pain."

I grinned, not insulted in the slightest "He was here all night," I assured the medical student.

"Well, that's weird," the girl murmured "Cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?"

"No," the Doctor shook his head, expression saddening "Not anymore. Just me."

Stoker cleared his throat impatiently "As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones."

"Sorry. Right," the girl winces, reaching out to listen to the Doctor's chest. She froze and I pouted internally at the fact that I couldn't see her expression. Her head snapped around, earning a wink from the Time Lord in the bed.

"I weep for future generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" Stoker shook his head with a disappointed frown.

The girl straightened "Er, I don't know," the medical student stuttered "Stomach cramps?"

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis," Stoker lectured "And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart." He picked up the chart at the end of the bed, dropping it in shock when he got an electric shock.

"That happened to me this morning," Jones pointed out.

"I had the same thing on the door handle," a young man cut in.

Another female medical student I didn't know the name of nodded "And me, on the lift."

Stoker straightened up importantly "That's only to be expected," he shrugged off "There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by… Anyone?"

"Benjamin Franklin," the Doctor answered immediately and I barely withheld the groan. I had a feeling that I knew how this would end.

"Correct," the doctor nodded.

The Time Lord apparently didn't get the hint to just shut up and continued with a grin "My mate, Ben. That was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite and then I got soaked."

"Quite," Stoker replied, seemingly not sure what to make of the man in front of him.

"And then I got electrocuted," the Doctor finished off.

Stoker sighed "Moving on," he called, leaning over to one of the students as he was leading them away "I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric. And next, we have…"

"Out of curiosity. What would you have done if that medical student had said anything?" I asked as soon as they were out of hearing range.

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively "She wouldn't have. Also… I wanted to see how she'd react."

I raised an eyebrow "And the thing about this morning?"

"I don't know," the Time Lord shook his head "And I really don't like not knowing. But…" His eyes narrowed at me "Where have you been?"

"Blood bank," I shrugged.

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment "Please… Please tell me you didn't steal from the blood bank when the Tardis is right outside."

"I'm not going to tell you then," I shrugged.

"Tyra," the Time Lord sighed "You could have just gone and grabbed one from the Tardis. What could possibly happen within a few minutes of you being gone?" I gave him a scathing look and pointed to the window on the other side of his bed. While he had been lecturing me, it had started to rain. There was only one thing that made it special… "Oh."

I crossed my arms with a smug grin "Oh? That's all you have to say?"

"Yes. It's all…" the Time Lord grabbed a dressing gown, practically leaping out of the bed "Come on. Let's go and have a look."

"Alright then," I shrugged, following him outside.

The Doctor stopped outside the door, looking up and down the corridor "So… Any idea on where to go there?"

"Maybe," I grinned, rolling my eyes at his lacking sense of direction. Somehow it felt like it had only gotten worse the more time passed "Come on. Let's try this way."

Almost as soon as we had gotten back to the ward after not finding anything unusual except for the weird rain, the whole building started shaking. I fell into the Doctor, only being saved from hitting my head against the bedside table by the Time Lord's arms wrapped around me "Are you okay?" he asked as soon as I had found my balance.

I nodded, glancing out of the window "I have a feeling that's all you've been asking me recently."

"Oh, it is but I don't mind," the Doctor grinned.

"Did you notice that we're on the moon?" I asked rhetorically.

The Time Lord hummed "I knew there was something going to happen here."

I was about to say something else when two of the medical students from earlier hurried inside. One was the girl who had listened to the Doctor's hearts "Alright now," Jones called out "Everyone back to bed. We've got an emergency but we'll sort it out. Don't worry."

The Doctor had watched her for a moment before drawing the curtain. I raised my eyebrow at him and he shrugged "Unless you want to watch me change, I'd suggest getting out or turning around." I blushed at the slight implication but shook my head, leaving the curtained off area to watch the people around me.

"It's real," Jones breathed "It's really real. Hold on." She reached up to open the window in front of her.

The other medical student stopped her, panic and fear written all over her face "Don't. We'll lose all the air."

"But they're not exactly airtight," Jones pointed out "If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away but it didn't. So how come?"

It was then that the Doctor opened the curtain forcefully "Very good point," he remarked, wearing a blue suit. I was internally contemplating whether I preferred the brown over the blue or the blue over the brown… Eh, they both looked pretty good on him. I blinked at my own thoughts and shook my head. He's my friend. Why was I thinking that way about him? "Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?"

"Martha," the medical student answered, staring at the Doctor in confusion.

The Time Lord nodded "And it was Jones, wasn't it?" When she nodded, he moved forward, looking out of the window "Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?"

"We can't be," the other medical student shook her head hysterically.

"Obviously we are, so don't waste my time," the Doctor dismissed "Martha, what have we got?" He looked around the ward "Is there a balcony on this floor or a veranda or…"

Martha cut him off "By the patients' lounge, yeah."

The Doctor grinned at us "Fancy going out?"

"Okay," Martha shrugged.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow "We might die."

There was a smile blooming on Martha's face "We might not."

"Good," the Time Lord complimented "Come on." Before he turned, he gestured to the still fearful medical student behind Martha "Not her, she'd hold us up." Then the Doctor tilted his head at me "You coming too?"

I smiled lightly "I would like nothing more. Except maybe that trip you promised to Barcelona…"

"You were the one who didn't want to go the last time I offered," the Time Lord pointed out as we were quickly walking after the medical student.

"True," I agreed "But then again. The Olympiad was pretty awesome as well. Until you disappeared that is."

The Doctor huffed "That was not my fault."

"It was a little bit," I told him.

"It was not," the Time Lord muttered.

Jones turned around to us and I was sure she had been listening to every word we said "We're here." She gestured to the glass doors in front of us.

"Right." The Doctor's attention turned to the doors and went to open them.

The three of us stepped out, each breathing in deeply "We've got air," Martha gasped "How does that work?"

"Just be glad it does," the Time Lord shot back.

Martha swallowed heavily, staring out towards the Earth "I've got a party tonight. It's my brother's twenty-first. My mother's going to be really, really…"

The Doctor looked at her curiously "You okay?"

"Yeah," the medical student nodded not very convincingly.

I raised my eyebrow, tilting my head "You sure about that?"

"Yeah."

"Want to go back in?" the Time Lord offered.

Martha snorted "No way. I mean, we could die any minute but all the same, it's beautiful."

The Doctor smiled lightly "Do you think?"

"How many people want to go to the moon?" the girl pointed out excitedly "And here we are."

"Standing in the Earthlight," the Doctor murmured, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me against his side.

Martha turned to look at us "What do you think happened?"

"What do you think?" the Time Lord retorted.

"Extraterrestrial," the medical student replied instantly "It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded mad but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben, Christmas, those Cybermen things. I had a cousin… Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home."

The Doctor's arm tightened "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Martha breathed, once again staring out onto the surface of the moon.

"We were there," the Doctor spoke up after a moment of silence "In the battle."

Martha once again turned towards us "I promise you, Mister Smith… And I don't know your name."

"Tyra," I introduced myself "Tyra Mikaelson."

"Alright, then," the medical student nodded "I promise you both, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way."

The Doctor winced and scratched the back of his head "It's not Smith. That's not my real name."

The other girl raised her eyebrow "Who are you, then?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Me too, if I can pass my exams," Martha sighed "What is it then, Doctor Smith?"

The Doctor sighed, more than used to people questioning him about his name "Just the Doctor."

"How do you mean, just the Doctor?"

"Just the Doctor," the Time Lord agreed.

The medical student raised her eyebrow "What, people call you the Doctor?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm not," Martha shook her head "As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title."

I leaned closer to the Time Lord with a grin "Ooh. Good luck earning your own name."

"Shush," the Doctor shushed "Well, I'd better make a start, then. Let's have a look." He knelt down to pick up a small rock "There must be some sort of…" He threw the rock as hard as he could, causing it to bounce off of something a few meters out "Forcefield keeping the air in."

Martha leaned forward "But if that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?"

"How many people in this hospital?"

"I don't know," the other girl shrugged "A thousand?"

The Doctor's face was set "One thousand people suffocating," he stated grimly.

Martha gasped "Why would anyone do that?" I jerked when all of a sudden the deafening noise of several spaceships landing broke the peacefulness.

"Head's up," the Time Lord warned "Ask them yourself."

Three massive columnar spaceships passed overhead, landing a little outside of the forcefield. As soon as the spaceships had landed, some kind of beings came stomping out in military formation "Aliens," Martha exclaimed, sounding a mix between excited and scared "That's aliens. Real, proper aliens."

"Judoon," the Doctor muttered before running back inside and to where the reception was located.

I glanced downstairs to where the humans were still huddled together in a panic as the Judoon passed through the forcefield and into the hospital. The people started screaming, running and hiding behind chairs in the waiting area. What appeared to be the leader took off his helmet, revealing the two-horned rhino that the Doctor had described when he told me about Judoon before "Blos so folt do no cro blos cos so ro." The other Judoon drew their weapons, pointing them at the scared humans.

One of the medical students from earlier. The guy that had spoken up in the Doctor's room, straightened up nervously "Er, we are citizens of planet Earth. We welcome you in peace." The lead Judoon pushed him against the wall, shining a blue light into his mouth "Please don't hurt me," the man breathed "I was just trying to help. I'm sorry, don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me."

"Language assimilated," the Judoon nodded after playing the recording back and plugging the device into his armour "Designation Earth English. You will be catalogued." He once again shone the light onto the man's face "Category human. Catalogue all suspects." The Judoon drew a cross on the medical student's hand before moving on.

I turned to look at the Doctor, waiting to see what he would do but his attention was on something else "Oh, look," he grinned "You've got a little shop. I like a little shop."

Martha raised her eyebrow at him "Never mind that," she hissed "What are Judoon?"

"They're like police," the Time Lord explained, running a hand through his already messy hair "Well, police for hire. They're more like interplanetary thugs."

I leaned against the flower pot lightly "And I'm guessing they brought us here with that rain… You said something earlier but – Well, I didn't listen. Although… Doc, if they catalogue humans…?"

"Why are we on the moon?" the other girl asked before I could finish my sentence.

"Neutral territory," the Doctor shrugged, squeezing my hand lightly "According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth and they isolated it. That rain, lightning? Like Tyra said… It was them, using an H2O scoop."

Martha stared at him as if he was crazy "What are you on about, galactic law? Where's you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?"

"No, but I like that," the Doctor murmured, sounding slightly impressed with the other girl "Good thinking." Then he sighed and shook his head "No, I wish it were that simple. They're making a catalogue. That means they're after something non-human, which is very bad news for me."

"I told you," I coughed.

The other girl looked from me to him and back. This repeated a few times before she let out a breath "Why?" When the Time Lord looked at her seriously, she snorted "Oh, you're kidding me. Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that."

"Come on then," the Doctor waved, tugging me over by the hand he was still holding.

As we continued hurrying through the corridors, I licked my lips nervously "What are you going to do?"

"We're going to look for the non-human right now," he explained hurriedly "Hopefully we can find them before…"

I glanced behind me "Do you want me to distract them?"

"No," the Doctor snapped before shaking his head "Sorry… No." He glanced at a sign that said 'Admin office' and pushed me inside, going to work on the computer with his sonic.

The other girl entered the room as well, panting a little "They've reached the third floor." She frowned at the device in the Time Lord's hand "What's that thing?"

"Sonic screwdriver," the Doctor shrugged.

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly," Martha huffed.

The Time Lord looked up in confusion "No, really, it is. It's a screwdriver and it's sonic."

"Not many people are impressed by a screwdriver, Doctor," I grinned "I don't think that's going to change."

He pouted lightly "But you… You like it, don't you, Ty?"

I rolled my eyes "Well, I'm going to have to, don't I? With all the times that thing got us out of trouble."

"That's not very nice."

"Have you got a laser spanner as well?" Martha asked, once again cutting into our conversation. Not that I could blame her much… We did tend to get carried away.

The Doctor's pout came back instantly "I did but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman…" He hit the computer harshly "Oh, this computer. The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon…" The Time Lord tilted his head in exasperation "Because we were just travelling past. I swear, we were just wandering. I wasn't looking for trouble, honestly, I wasn't but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital and that lightning, that's a plasma coil. Been building up for two days now, so I checked in. I thought something was going on inside… "

"You don't have to look at me," I held up my hands "I knew exactly that this was going to turn into a mess. Things normally do around you."

"They do not," he exclaimed.

I raised an eyebrow "Do too."

"Are you two done acting like two-year-olds?" Martha crossed her arms "What are they looking for?"

The Time Lord ran a hand through his hair again "Something that looks human but isn't."

"Like you, apparently," the girl pointed out before glancing to me "Are you alien as well?"

I shook my head "I was born on Earth." I closed my eyes for a moment before looking up at the Doctor "I really think now would be a good idea to go and make that distraction. They're coming closer."

"I don't want you to put yourself into danger, Tyra," the Doctor explained.

"Does that really matter right now?" I demanded quietly "You are the one who normally cares about humans and… Well, about everyone really. They could die if we don't do anything."

He whirled around, grabbing my shoulders "I care for you more. You're constantly putting yourself in danger and I don't like seeing you hurt."

"This might be our only option though…" I trailed off.

Martha bit her lip "What are we looking for anyway?"

"I don't know," the Doctor sighed, still having a staring match with me "Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms." He whirled back to the computer after relaxing his shoulders, looking away "Maybe there's a back-up," he mumbled."

"Just keep working," the medical student nodded "I'll go ask Mister Stoker. He might know."

"I'll come with you," I said.

The Doctor's head snapped around, knowing exactly what I planned "Tyra…"

"Don't even try," I shook my head.

He closed his eyes for a moment "Be careful, alright. Don't let them catch you…"

"I won't," I promised, squeezing his arm before following Martha out of the door "So, where did you see them last?"

The other girl frowned "You're really going after them?"

"Yup," I nodded "So… Where?" She pointed me in a direction opposite of where we had been going in "Thanks."

As soon as I was around a corner, I sped up, running through the corridors towards the loud footsteps that I could hear somewhere close to me. I blurred around the Judoon, making one or two of them stumble when I pushed them to the side "Halt," the leader demanded, his eyes darting around "Show yourself and face justice."

"Come and get me then," I taunted, not stopping long enough for them to see me. When their footsteps followed me, I lead them through corridors before quickly changing directions on them, running back to where the Doctor was.

"I've restored the back-up," I heard him exclaim from around the corner.

It was Martha's voice that answered "I found her."

"You did what?" the Time Lord demanded, his eyes wide "Dammit… Where's Tyra?"

"I'm here," I told him "The Judoon should be on the other side of the hospital."

Just then two motorcycle men broke down the door at the end of the corridor "Run," the Doctor exclaimed. The three of us ran down the stairs but a couple of Judoon came out of the door, so the Time Lord pulled us to another floor "On the other side of the hospital?"

"Well, sorry?" I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder "What's up with them?"

"Not now," the Doctor muttered, running through the doors of radiology. He sonicked the lock before turning to us "When I say now, press the button."

Martha's eyes widened "I don't know which one."

"Aren't you a medical student?" I tilted my head.

"But not in radiology," she pointed out.

The Doctor barely turned his head "Just find out, will you?" He was messing with the x-ray machine while Martha got out the Operator's Manual from the shelf, leafing through it. The motorcycle man outside was battering the door, trying to get it off its hinges "Now!"

The other girl hit a random button, causing the black-clad man to freeze before falling face down to the ground "What did you do?" she breathed.

"Increased the radiation by five thousand percent," the Doctor shrugged "Killed him dead."

"But… isn't that going to kill you?" the medical student asked.

The Doctor snorted "Nah. It's only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for the two of you to come out. I've absorbed it all." He started hopping in place, shaking different body parts "All I need to do is expel it. If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe." He was still hopping, shaking his leg violently "Here we go, here we go. Easy does it. Out, out, out, out, out. Out, out. Ah, ah, ah, ah! It is, it is, it is… It is hot. Hold on." After a lot of jigging about, the Time Lord took off his shoe and threw it into the bin "Done."

"I think this has to be the weirdest thing you ever did…" I gaped "And you've done a lot of weird stuff over the past two years."

Martha was shaking her head next to me "You're completely mad."

"You're right," the Doctor acknowledged "I look daft with one shoe…" He got rid of the other one too and wiggled his toes "Barefoot on the moon."

"Oh, God," I muttered, hiding my face in my hands.

The medical student's eyes wandered to the thing on the floor "So what is that thing? And where is it from? The planet Zovirax?"

"It's just a slab," the Doctor waved off "They're called Slabs. Basic slave drones. See? Solid leather all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."

"But it was that woman," Martha exclaimed "Miss Finnegan. It was working for her, just like a servant."

The Doctor turned to the machine, pulling out the remains of his sonic from the x-ray machine. It was completely fried "My sonic screwdriver."

"She was one of the patients but…"

"Oh, no. My sonic screwdriver," the Doctor cut her off mournfully.

Martha shot him a look "She had a straw like some kind of vampire." She frowned when the man didn't react "Doctor?"

"A straw?" I repeated "What the…? That's an insult to all vampires." I grabbed the broken sonic from the Time Lord's hands "Pay attention, will you?"

"Sorry," he grimaced apologetically "You called me Doctor."

Martha threw up her hands in exasperation "Anyway? Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mister Stoker's blood."

"Funny time to take a snack," the Doctor blinked "You'd think she'd be hiding." He glanced over at me "Then again…"

"Hey," I crossed my arms with a huff "As long as she's not a vampire. I mean… What kind of self-respecting vampire uses a straw?"

The Time Lord looked at me thoughtfully "Unless… Wait a minute. Yes! Shape-changer. Internal shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it." He nodded "If she can assimilate Mister Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she'll register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on." A few corridors down, the Doctor pulled both Martha and me behind a water dispenser, waiting for another of those Slabs to pass by "That's the thing about Slabs," he grumbled "They always travel in pairs."

"What about you?" Martha asked.

The Doctor blinked "What about me what?"

"Haven't the two of you got back-up? You must have a team or something, right?"

"Oh. Humans," the Time Lord rolled his eyes "We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a blood-sucking criminal, you're asking personal questions?"

Martha snorted "I like that," she commented "I'm still not convinced you're an alien."

"Non-human," the Judoon we had just run into grunted after scanning the Doctor.

"Oh, my God," the other girl gasped "You really are."

The Doctor groaned "And again." He whirled around, starting to run around the corner with Martha and me hot on his heels. We ducked around the corner, trying to avoid the Judoon firing their weapons. The Time Lord waved us into the staircase before guiding us upstairs. In the corridor, people were starting to slump to the ground "They've done this floor. Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky…"

Martha knelt down next to her fellow medical student. The one we had left downstairs earlier "How much oxygen is there?"

"Not enough for all these people," the other medical student shook her head, running her hand through the patient's hair "We're going to run out."

The Doctor watched as the dark-skinned girl rejoined us "How are you feeling?" he questioned "Are you alright?"

"I'm running on adrenaline," Martha admitted with a small grin.

I nodded sagely "That's what usually happened around him," I pointed "That and chaos and mayhem."

"I can imagine," the girl mumbled "What about the Judoon? Won't they run out of air?"

The Time Lord shook his head "Nah, great big lung reserves. It won't slow them down. Where's Mister Stoker's office?"

"It's this way," Martha mumbled, pushing past the Doctor. We hurried back to where we had been earlier, bursting into the empty office "She's gone. She was here."

I closed my eyes, taking a breath "There's no blood left. He's drained dry," I mumbled, staring at the body.

"I was right then," the Doctor sighed "She's a plasmavore."

"What's she doing on Earth?"

The Time Lord shrugged "Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now?" He tilted his head "She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."

"Wait a minute," Martha stopped him. She knelt down next to the body and closed Stoker's eyes.

We left the office again and stopped in the corridor, the Doctor pacing up and down "Think, think, think. If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?" He froze, staring at the sign to the MRI "Ah. She's as clever as me. Well, almost."

"Wow," I whistled lowly "What a compliment."

"What are you then?" Martha raised her eyebrow "Comic relief?"

I turned to glare at her and went to say something when a crash sounded a little way down and people started screaming. The Doctor put his hand on my shoulder "Martha, stay here. I need time. You've got to hold them up."

"How do I do that?" she frowned "And why doesn't she do it again?"

The Doctor licked his lips nervously "Just forgive me for this. It could have saved a thousand lives. It means nothing… Honestly, nothing." He surged forward, pulling the other girl into a long, hard kiss "Look after her, Ty. But stay out of sight." Then he was gone.

"That was nothing?" Martha breathed her fingers on her lips.

I couldn't quite hold back the glare at her dreamy expression "I'm just down the corridor," I told her curtly "If you need help… Shout. Or no, don't. I'll hear you anyway." With that I whirled around, pressing myself into the shadows of an alcove around the corner.

" _Find the non-human. Execute,_ " the Judoon leader ordered.

" _Now, listen,_ " Martha stepped forward nervously " _I know who you're looking for. She's this woman. She calls herself Florence._ "

A dull thud sounded until the same Judoon as before spoke up again " _Human. Wait… Non-human traits suspected. Non-human element confirmed. Authorise full scan. What are you? What are you?"_ It took a while before I could hear more than frantic heartbeats and breathing " _Confirm human. Traces of facial contact with non-human. Continue the search. You will need this._ "

" _What's that for?_ " Martha demanded.

" _Compensation._ "

The medical student let out a small breath of relief, hurrying after the group of Judoon. I held my breath, pressing deeper into the shadows as they marched past without paying me any mind "There you are," Martha mumbled as I joined her.

We continued after them through the corridors to the MRI room. I could smell the Doctor's blood as soon as I was a few feet from the door. The Judoon burst in " _Now see what you've done,_ " the woman exclaimed, her voice rising " _This poor man just died of fright._ " I closed my eyes in pain at the lack of heartbeat coming from the Doctor but there was nothing I could do while the Judoon were still there.

" _Scan him,_ " the Judoon murmured " _Confirmation. Deceased._ "

Martha shoved past me and ran into the room "No, he can't be. Let me through. Let me see him."

"Stop," the Judoon demanded "Case closed."

I was leaning against the doorframe, worrying my lip while not looking away from the prone form that was the Doctor. Martha glared at the aliens "But it was her. She killed him. She did it. She murdered him."

"Judoon have no authority over human crime," the leader told her.

"But she's not human," Martha gritted out, looking back to me "Why aren't you doing anything?" I took a step away from the door, not sure if I would register as human. Thankfully, the Judoon didn't even turn to look at me. I would do something but I'm giving her a chance to prove herself. The Doctor is interested in her, so if she got this then… Maybe, just maybe it was enough to take her along. I wasn't a hundred percent whether I actually wanted her to come along but… It was the Time Lord's choice in the end.

The Plasmavore smirked at the dark-skinned girl "Oh, but I am human. I've been catalogued." She held up her hand in victory.

I closed my eyes, begging for Martha to come to the conclusion of how to help the Doctor. I knew that she could… This was her chance to prove herself "But she's not," Martha huffed "She assimi… Wait a minute." A smile flitted across her face "You drank his blood? The Doctor's blood?" Martha ripped one of the scanners out of the Judoon's hands, pointing it at the older woman.

"Oh, I don't mind," the Plasmavore shrugged "Scan all you like."

"Non-human," the Judoon leader announced.

The woman's face fell "But… what?"

"Confirm analysis."

"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely," Miss Finnegan stuttered "I'm human. I'm as human as they come."

Martha stared at her "He gave his life so they'd find you."

"Confirm," the Judoon said "Plasmavore, charged with the crime of murdering the child princess of Patrival Regency Nine."

The Plasmavore sneered "Well, she deserved it. Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that simpering voice. She was begging for the bite of a plasmavore."

The Judoon tilted his head "Then you confess?"

"Confess?" the woman laughed "I'm proud of it." She ducked behind the second motorcycle man "Slab, stop them."

In a second flat, the alien rhinos had fried the second slab "Verdict, guilty. Sentence, execution."

The Plasmavore ducked behind the screen, plugging in the MRI scanner. As soon as she did, the Magnetic Overload sign came on "Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in hell." Four Judoon all fired at the woman through the screen, incinerating the Plasmavore.

"Case closed," the Judoon nodded in satisfaction.

Martha turned to them "But what did she mean, burn with me? The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something."

"Scans detect lethal acceleration of mono-magnetic pulse," they said.

"Well, do something," the medical student shouted while I fell down next to the Doctor, pressing my hand to his chest. His hearts still weren't beating but I was scared to try CPR simply because I was slightly out of it already. Controlling my strength would be near impossible.

The Judoon turned around as one "Out jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate. All units withdraw."

They stomped out and Martha was about to follow them "Martha. Can you…? I can't…"

"Yes, yes," she nodded, staring CPR "One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five. Why isn't this working?"

I slumped to the ground, my strength leaving me "Two heart. He's got two hearts."

"One, two, three, four, five." This time she used both her hands "One, two, three, four, five." She started to gasp for air just as my eyes drifted close "The scanner," Martha panted "She did something…"

"Soddit," the Doctor cursed from somewhere behind me and that was the last thing I heard before I sank into unconsciousness.

**Third Person PoV**

The Time Lord had crawled towards the scanner controls as soon as he had woken up but since he didn't have his sonic anymore, he looked around. His gaze fell onto the cables that had been plugged together. As soon as he separated them, the scanner turned off.

With much difficulty, he fought to get to his feet, looking at the two unconscious girls on the floor "Come on," he mumbled, picking up Martha first. He slowly carried her to the ward, depositing her on the bed he had occupied before trudging back to get Tyra. It was slightly disconcerting how much lighter Tyra was compared to Martha. Sure, he had carried her before but back then he didn't have a direct comparison "Come on," he breathed, staring out of the window at the Judoon ships that were leaving "Come on, please. Come on, Judoon, reverse it."

As soon as those words had left his mouth, it started raining again "It's raining, Ty," he whispered into the Original's ear "It's raining on the moon."

One crash of thunder and a big flash later, the hospital was back where it was supposed to be. He sank to the ground, cradling Tyra in his arms. All around them, the unconscious people were starting to breathe easier but none of them was awake yet.

It took another five minutes for Tyra to stir. She groaned, causing the Doctor to look down "You awake?"

"My head," she groaned, hiding her face in the Time Lord's shoulder. When she spoke again, her voice was muffled by his suit jacket "At least you didn't ask whether I was okay this time."

The Doctor shook his head with a grin before prodding her side "Come on. Let's get you back to the Tardis before we get held hostage by the police."

"Kay," Tyra mumbled, leaning onto the Doctor a little as her head swam.

**Tyra PoV**

"So, what do you think?" the Doctor asked, sitting down next to me.

I tilted my head "About… What?"

"Martha Jones," he explained.

"You're thinking about taking her along, aren't you?" I hummed.

The Time Lord bit his lip "Yeah. Maybe a trip or two… What do you think?"

I raised my shoulder in a shrug "Your Tardis," I pointed out "Your choice."

"But you're here too," the Doctor murmured "And I want you to agree before I take someone along."

"In that case. I don't mind… You can ask her while I go and change?" I looked down at my clothes "I sadly can't get away with wearing the same clothes for more than a day…"

He snorted, ruffling my hair "Alright then. Just come back to the console room when you're done."

"I will."

It took me a little bit and when I stepped into the hallway, leading to the console room, I could hear Martha's voice "But is there a crew?" the other girl asked "Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"

"Just Ty and me," the Doctor replied.

"Just the two of you?"

The Time Lord messed around with the console "Well, sometimes I have guests… I mean some friends, travelling alongside like Tyra. I had… There was, recently, a friend of ours. Rose, her name was." He swallowed "Rose. And… anyway."

"Where is she now?" Martha asked. I leaned against the wall out of sight, just listening to what they were saying.

"With her family," the Doctor explained "Happy. She's fine. She's…" He looked up "Not that you're replacing her."

The medical student raised her eyebrow "Never said I was."

The Doctor pointed at her "Just one trip to say thanks… You get one trip, then back home. I'd rather be on my own."

"With Tyra," Martha added and leaned closer to the Doctor "You're the one who kissed me."

"That was a genetic transfer," the Time Lord muttered uncomfortably.

I narrowed my eyes when the other girl's voice turned even more flirty "And if you will wear a tight suit."

"Now, don't…"

"And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date," Martha finished.

It was then that I stepped from my hiding place, jumping down the stairs "I see you found her then."

"Yup," the Doctor nodded and – was that just me or was there relief in his eyes? "Now that you're back here… Close down the gravitic anomaliser, fire up the helmic regulator. And finally…" He threw a switch with a huge grin "The hand brake. Ready?"

Martha shook her head with wide eyes. She had stepped away from the Time Lord as soon as I entered. Not that I cared… He was his own person after all. If he wanted her then it was his choice… "No."

"Off we go." The Tardis materialised with a big jolt, causing the three of us to hold on for dear life. Somehow whenever he was trying to show off, his driving turned even worse.

"Blimey," Martha breathed, her knuckles turning white "It's a bit bumpy."

The Doctor reached out his hand "Welcome aboard, Miss Jones."

"It's my pleasure, Mister Smith," the medical student shot back with a big smile.


	18. Shakespeare Code

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. So this might be the last post in a little bit. I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm also taking my laptop but I'm not sure whether I have time. Let's just hope that I do. I don't want to stop writing for three weeks.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

I was leaning against the console next to the Doctor, Martha hanging on for dear life. After almost two years on the Tardis, I had gotten used to the bucking and the shaking for the most part. It had been a bit harsher when we took off but now the Tardis had somewhat stabilized. Martha looked at the Doctor "But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?"

"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything," the Doctor sighed in annoyance "Martha, you don't want to know. It just does. Hold on tight." The Tardis came to a halt and the other girl fell to the ground, while I just wobbled dangerously.

"Blimey," she gasped "Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?"

The Doctor nodded "Yes, and I failed it. Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip and one trip only. Outside this door, brave new world."

I grinned "You're kidding. Are we really seeing him?" The Doctor had just quoted Shakespeare's Tempest. I had been on his case for ages to go see the Bard since I had been locked in a coffin during those years. Now he finally brought me here.

"Yup," he smiled and I threw my arms around him happily.

"Where are we?" Martha questioned confused.

The Doctor gestured to the doors "Take a look. After you."

"Oh, you are kidding me," the girl exclaimed, head whipping from side to side to take everything in as best as she could "You are so kidding me. Oh, my God. We did it. We travelled in time. Where are we? No, sorry. I got to get used to this whole new language. When are we?"

The Time Lord quickly pulled her back, shielding me at the same time "Mind out."

A man emptied his slop bucket from an upstairs window "Gardez l'eau."

"Somewhere before the invention of the toilet," the Doctor sighed "Sorry about that."

I held up my hands "Don't look at me. I've lived through this. It's nothing I'm not used to."

Martha shrugged "I've seen worse. I've worked the late night shift A+E. But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"

"Of course we can. Why would you ask that?"

"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race," the doctor in training explained.

The Doctor stopped, blinking at the girl weirdly "Tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?"

"What if, I don't know, what if I kill my grandfather?" Martha demanded.

I coughed into my hand, trying desperately to hide my amusement. The Time Lord looked down at me with a smile before turning back to the other girl "Are you planning to?"

"No?" Martha murmured.

The Doctor shrugged "Well, then."

"And this is London?" the medical student questioned.

"I think so," the Time Lord nodded "Round about 1599. Come on." The three of us ran along from the south end of old London Bridge past what would become Southwark Cathedral. That gave us the perfect view of the… Oh, my God.

My head whipped to face the Doctor "You made it. You actually got the right year." I bounced on the balls of my feet for a moment "I really want to see Shakespeare… Was in a coffin," I mumbled under my breath.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor grinned, holding out his arm to me "Miss Mikaelson, Miss Jones, will you accompany me to the theatre?"

"Mister Smith, I will," Martha proclaimed, while I just took his arm with a smile.

We walked over to the Globe Theatre "When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare."

"Then I could get sanctioned," the other girl pointed out sarcastically.

About an hour or so later, the performance had just finished and the audience was applauding the actors. I was standing in front of the Doctor, while we watched the play from the pit like everyone else "That's amazing," Martha smiled "Just amazing. It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?"

"London never changes," the Doctor grinned, looking down at me. I shrugged.

The medical student looked over the heads of the crowd "Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare. Author! Author!" She stopped and turned to us "Do people shout that? Do they shout Author?"

"Author! Author," a man started and soon the crowd were all shouting for Shakespeare.

I snorted "Well, now they do."

The Bard himself jumped out from behind the door to rapturous applause. Martha blinked in surprise "He's a bit different from his portraits."

"Genius," the Time Lord shook his head "He's a genius. The Genius. The most human human there's ever been. Now we're going to hear him speak. Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words."

"Ah, shut your big fat mouths," Shakespeare shouted at that moment.

The Doctor's shoulders slumped "Oh, well." I laughed at his face, patting his shoulder reassuringly. For some reason, it didn't surprise me that Shakespeare would go for comedy over deep meaning. In his words right now, that was.

"You should never meet your heroes," Martha pointed out with a grin.

"You've got excellent taste," the Bard nodded "I'll give you that. Oh, that's a wig." He pointed at a person in the front of the crowd "I know what you're all saying. Loves Labour's Lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops. Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius." Suddenly, the man went rigid and his face blanked "When? Tomorrow night. The première of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it Loves Labour's Won."

I inhaled sharply and turned to look up at the Time Lord "Loves Labour's Won… That's the lost play, Doctor. I have a bad feeling about this."

"So do I, Ty. So do I," he murmured and herded Martha and me out of the theatre.

"I'm not an expert," Martha pointed out when we were almost back on the street "But I've never heard of Loves Labour's Won."

The Doctor sighed, running a hand through his unruly hair "Exactly. The lost play. It doesn't exist, only in rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. And no one knows why."

"Haven't you got a mini-disc or something? We can tape it," Martha remarked "We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint." The Doctor glared at her silently, making Martha cringe "That would be bad."

The Time Lord nodded "Yeah."

"Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?" the other girl questioned.

I looked back at the Globe "No one knows. Can we stay? This is something I'd really love to see."

The Doctor debated for a moment "Well, I was just going to give Martha a quick little trip in the Tardis but I suppose we could stay a bit longer."

"Yes," I cheered, grabbing the Doctor's hand "Come on."

"Well, you seem happy," the Doctor murmured.

I raised one shoulder in a shrug "I always am when we go somewhere I haven't been yet. I love seeing what I missed in the past."

Martha frowned in confusion "What are you talking about? 'What you missed'?"

"It doesn't matter," I waved off, stopping in front of the Elephant when the Doctor pulled at my hand "He's in there?"

"Yup." He pulled us into the tavern and up the stairs when I pointed out that Shakespeare was in one of the rooms upstairs "Hello," he grinned, peaking into the doorway "Excuse me, not interrupting, am I? Mister Shakespeare, isn't it?"

Shakespeare groaned "Oh, no. No, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs," he rambled "No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove…" He stopped when his gaze fell on Martha and my partially hidden form "Hey, nonny nonny. Sit right down here next to me."

It was only when the Doctor moved that I saw a familiar figure sitting between Shakespeare and one of his actors "Kol?" I breathed, staring at my brother with wide eyes. I didn't even know that my brother was awake or met Shakespeare. I always thought that he was daggered as well. Apparently, I was wrong.

His head snapped to me "Ty?"

"Kol," I smiled, rushing over to him. He caught me easily and pulled me into a crushing hug "Missed you," I breathed into his ear.

When he let me go, I saw that we held the room's attention. The actors and the two women from before were gone, leaving only Shakespeare, the Doctor, Martha, my brother and me "How do you know someone from 1599," Martha frowned, staring at me weirdly.

I bit my lip "Er… Does it matter?"

"Ashamed of me, darling sister?" Kol teased, his arms still wrapped around my shoulders from behind.

I smirked, leaning my head against his chest to look up at him – or rather at his chin "Well, one can hardly be proud of you, brother dearest."

"Good to see you're still as cheeky as ever," he laughed, ruffling my hair "When did Nik let you go?"

My smirk fell and I glanced at the Doctor nervously "That… is a long story. Can I – Can I tell him?" The last part was aimed at the Time Lord.

The Doctor nodded "Sure. If that's what you want."

"Tell me what?" Kol frowned "Who is that and why are you with him?"

" **Can we talk in private?** " I asked in our mother tongue. It had been a long time since I had last spoken it but it felt nice. When I was travelling with Kol a few centuries ago, we often spoke it. It was something that reminded us of where we came from, or when we were human. We were the only two of all our siblings to still speak it occasionally. The others had long since decided to forget our roots.

My brother stared at me for a moment " **Alright. But you'll tell me?** "

" **I promise. No matter how complicated it** **actually** **is.** "

Kol lead me to a room across from the one Shakespeare was in and closed the door behind us " **So? How did you get away from Nik.** "

" **That's when it gets complicated.** " I shifted around on the bed in Kol's room " **Technically, I'm still in a coffin somewhere…** " At my brother's confused look, I shrugged " **The man you just met – the Doctor – he… I met him in 2005.** "

" **What?** "

" **See? Complicated,** " I winced, scratching the back of my head " **It's… The Doctor is an alien and he has this machine called the Tardis. It allows us to go anywhere, anytime.** "

Kol raised an eyebrow at me in disbelief " **Are you** **serious** **?** "

" **Look, I know you don't believe me but you've seen my clothes and you've seen Martha's…** **Just listen to the Doctor's heartbeat. He has two hearts,** " I trailed off, not sure if there was anything else I could say to convince him. Hell, if I hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't believe it either " **You know what? Just… forget about…** "

I was cut off by a man's scream from the street, quickly followed by a moment "Help me."

"Really? Again?" I rolled my eyes, running out of the room with Kol following me "I swear, we can barely go a day without anything happening…" In the courtyard, a man was staggering around, spewing huge amounts of water. I joined Martha and the Doctor "Who is that?"

"It's that Lynley bloke," Martha murmured, staring at the man in horror.

I tilted my head "And who is that Lynley bloke?"

"He's the official censor," Kol murmured into my ear "Every new script goes through him."

The Doctor frowned "What's wrong with him? Leave it to me. I'm a doctor."

He ran forward with Martha hot at his heels "So am I, near enough." As suddenly as this had all begun, it stopped and Lynley collapsed "Got to get the heart going. Mister Lynley, come on. Can you hear me? You're going to be alright." The other girl started to clear the dead man's airways, only to get water gushing out.

" **Correct me if I'm wrong,** " Kol whispered into my ear " **But that looked suspiciously like magic.** "

I ran a hand through my hair " **On one hand, yeah. But then again… Even the voodoo the witches can do, it isn't this sophisticated.** **Not yet at least.** "

" **True,** " he murmured, nodding his head thoughtfully " **But… What else could it be?** " I shot him a look that practically screamed 'We just talked about it' " **Alright,** **alright** **. I'll believe you, for now, sister. After all... We're vampires who were witches. We have seen weirder** **things** **than aliens, right?** " Kol murmured when we had walked over to Lynley's body. We had seen enough death to be at least somewhat knowledgeable in that area.

I hugged his arm and squeaked when he picked me up, twirling me around for a moment " **Thank you, thank you, thank you.** "

" **Speaking of aliens. What's the weirdest thing you've seen so far?** " Kol asked me.

I stopped for a moment and hummed " **Hm. That's difficult... Let me think. Well, there was the Devil... And I was on a parallel Earth once** **where all of you were human and I didn't exist** **and Henrik was still alive** **. I'd have to tell you about the rest some other time. When you'd understand the references** **and the science of it** **.** "

" **The what?** " Kol snorted.

" **Devil,** " I repeated " **Well, it wasn't as much** **the** **Devil as it was… a Beast, a Demon that was imprisoned in the centre of a planet called Krop Tor.** **T** **he thing claimed to be the Devil. It was fascinating really…** **Krop Tor was in orbit around a black hole which** **shouldn't be** **possible at all.** " At Kol's blank look, I groaned " **You know what? Never mind. You'll understand that someday.** "

Martha blinked at me in confusion, narrowing her eyes "Wait a moment. I can't understand what you're saying…" She turned back to the Doctor "I thought the Tardis translates anything?"

"She should," the Doctor murmured, staring at me with a raised eyebrow. Of course, he would have still understood what Kol and I were saying but thankfully the first part of the conversation had been quiet enough for him not to hear. I hadn't told him about witches before, so I wasn't sure whether he knew that they were real since the species kept below the radar most of the time. Werewolves more so than witches but he already knew about those. It was only vampires that didn't really care too much and relied heavily on compulsion.

My lips twitched "I might have asked her to keep my mother tongue from being translated. Well, only if we don't end up anywhere we're going to have to speak it."

"You –" the Time Lord pointed to me accusingly "You turned my Tardis against me?"

"It's not my fault she likes me better," I smirked "Maybe she would like you more if you didn't hit her with a hammer all the time."

Kol frowned down at me "What the hell are you talking about?"

"A sentient ship that travels through time and space," I explained under my breath, aware that there were humans all around us.

The Doctor shook his head and turned to the owner of the Elephant Inn "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

Dolly nodded "Yes, sir."

The maid from earlier stopped the older woman from leaving "I'll do it, ma'am." With that, she left.

"Why are you telling him that?" Martha frowned, looking at the Time Lord in confusion.

The Doctor shrugged, glancing at Shakespeare who had been standing a little to the side "This lot still have got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft."

"Okay," Martha shrugged "What was it then?"

"Witchcraft."

I scoffed "That's not witchcraft," I mumbled, sounding slightly annoyed.

Kol shrugged "I mean, it still could be, right?"

"But our kind of magic would have a different aura," I pointed out "We would be able to tell." As vampires Kol and I might not be able to use magic anymore, we still spent enough time around them to know when someone was using it nearby. The sensitivity to magic was still there for the most part even if it wasn't always reliable. That was also what helped me when I had been trying to find some members for the Alpha Coven. If a witch used magic anywhere nearby, I normally would have been able to tell. I wasn't sure whether all former witches-warlocks had that ability but… It was a possibility.

When we reached Shakespeare's room, the owner of the Inn turned to the Doctor "I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You and Miss Jones are just across the landing. I assumed Lady Mikaelson would stay with her brother?"

I looked from the Doctor to Kol and back before I shrugged "I… I guess so?"

"I don't mind either way," the Time Lord told me.

Shakespeare, meanwhile, had sunken down behind his desk, hiding his face in his hands "Poor Lynley. So many strange events. Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?"

"Where a woman can do what she likes," Martha corrected.

"And you, Sir Doctor," the Bard murmured, turning to face the Time Lord "How can a man so young have eyes so old?"

The Doctor looked at the man seriously "I do a lot of reading."

"A trite reply," Shakespeare complimented "Yeah, that's what I'd do. And you?" He turned his head back to Martha "You look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me."

The medical student blushed, staring at everything but the Doctor or me "I think we should say goodnight." With that said, she walked out.

"Then there's you… and your brother," the author murmured, looking at me "There is something about you."

"Maybe there is maybe there isn't," I shrugged dismissively.

"I must work," the playwright waved his hand "I have a play to complete. But I'll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours."

"All the world's a stage," the Doctor threw out carelessly.

Shakespeare raised his eyebrow "Hmm. I might use that. Goodnight, Doctor."

"Nighty night, Shakespeare," the Doctor said before turning. He threw me a silent look that told me to come to their room before retiring.

I was about to follow him when Kol grabbed my arm "I'll be right there, Kol. I just need to talk to the Doctor and Martha for a moment."

"If you're sure," my older brother sighed, pressing a kiss to my forehead before opening the door to his room "Just come in when you're done."

I rolled my eyes "Like you won't be listening in…"

"Hush, brat," the other Original huffed, waving me off. I grinned at him cheekily before slipping into the room Martha and the Doctor were in.

"So, magic and stuff," Martha licked her lips uncomfortably "That's a surprise. It's all a little bit Harry Potter."

The Doctor grinned from the bed "Wait till you read book seven. Oh, I cried."

"But it is real, though?" the medical student questioned "I mean, witches, black magic and all that?"

"Course it is," I cut in, nudging the Doctor's head up to sit on the head of the bed "This isn't magic magic though."

Martha raised her eyebrow "Magic magic?" She shook her head "Magic, aliens… I've only just started to believe in time travel. What else is out there?"

"Vampires," I shrugged "Werewolves… There's more but I'm guessing those are the main species on Earth along with humans."

"Vampires?" Martha snorted "You mean like Miss Finnegan?"

I hissed in agitation "That again. I'm talking fangs, not straws."

The Doctor placed his head on my lap, his neck muscles obviously protesting against him trying to hold his head up for this long "This might look like witchcraft but it isn't." He glanced up at Martha who was watching us with slightly narrowed eyes "Are you going to stand there all night?"

"Budge up a bit, then," she shot back before closing her eyes for a moment "Sorry, there's not much room…"

"There's such a thing as psychic energy," the Time Lord muttered, while I ran my hand through his hair absent-mindedly "But a human couldn't channel it like that."

I nodded "Not even the witches are able to do something quite as complex as this. I mean, there's Voodoo but… At this time, it wasn't as much of a trend as in the early 21st century."

The Doctor hummed "They'd need a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that. No… I'm missing something." He turned to his side, looking at the other girl with his head still resting on my upper thigh "Something really close, staring me right in the eyes and I can't see it. Rose'd know… A friend of ours, Rose."

I stiffened a little as he mentioned Rose and closed my eyes. Of course, he missed her… There was nothing I could say or do against it and I shouldn't mind. The blonde had been around for as long as I had "I think Kol is waiting for me. Can you let me get up?" The Doctor shifted a little, moving closer to Martha by accident "Thanks." I ruffled his hair before leaving the room as quickly as I could. Once outside, I sank to the ground, burying my face in my hands. Why did I keep reacting like this? It's like I was jealous but that was stupid, wasn't it? The Doctor was still my friend, so there was no need for me to get jealous over someone else or even Rose. Especially since I had always been closer to the Time Lord than Rose.

I looked up when footsteps came up the stairs and smiled lightly when Dolly came into view "Lady Tyra… Is everything alright?" the woman asked when her gaze caught mine.

"Yes, yes," I murmured, getting up from the floor "Have a good night." I opened Kol's door and quickly closed it behind me.

"You look like someone killed your favourite toy," Kol remarked, looking up from the grimoire he had on his lap.

I huffed and crawled over to him, snuggling into his side comfortably "I missed you, Kol."

"I'm here now, Ty," he murmured, wrapping his arms around me tightly "I have a question though. Who is Rose?"

"So you did eavesdrop," I snorted, not remotely surprised "She travelled with the Doctor. I think we actually met him around the same time. She recently got… lost."

Kol tilted his head "Lost…? Lost how?"

"I didn't kill her if that's what you're asking," I mumbled "She's trapped in the parallel Earth that… The one where you guys were all human."

"And how –" The rest of his question was cut off by a shrill scream. Kol raised his eyebrow "Again?"

I shrugged, reluctantly letting go of him to run out of the door "Apparently."

In Shakespeare's room, the Doctor was kneeling next to Dolly "Her heart gave out," he blinked owlishly "She died of fright."

"Doctor?" Martha called from the window, staring out in shock.

The Time Lord jumped up "What did you see?"

"A witch."

An hour or two later, I was curled up on Kol's lap, my head resting on his shoulder comfortably. The constables had collected Dolly's body and taken her away. Will let out a shaky sigh "Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place when we all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit."

The Doctor stared at the wall "Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

"I might use that," Will nodded in appreciation.

"You can't," the Time Lord shrugged "It's someone else's."

"But the thing is," Martha spoke up suddenly, causing me to raise my head for a moment "Lynley frowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright and they were both connected to you."

Will frowned at her "You're accusing me?"

"That's not what she's saying," I pointed out, hiding a yawn behind my hand. The more or less sleepless nights were slowly catching up with me. Well, either that or Kol was too comfortable.

"Yeah," Martha nodded "I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away and you've written about witches."

Kol tilted his head "He has?"

"I have?" Will asked at the same time "When was that?"

The Doctor winced "Not… Not quite yet."

"Hey, didn't that guy speak about witches?" Kol asked "The one… Erm…"

"Peter Streete," Shakespeare nodded in agreement.

Martha blinked "Who's Peter Streete?"

"Our builder," Will explained "He sketched the plans to the Globe."

The Doctor shot up from his chair "The architect. Hold on… The architect! The architect. The Globe. Come on."

I yelped when Kol stood up, keeping me in his arms "Kol," I exclaimed "Put me down."

"If you insist," he shrugged, dropping me to the ground unceremoniously.

I glared up at him and was about to get up and charge at him when Will held out his hand for me to take "Thanks," I smiled lightly, blushing when Will leaned down to press a small kiss to my hand. As soon as he let go of me, I whirled around to face Kol "You're dead, brother."

"Go ahead," Kol goaded, spreading his arms. He ducked to the side when I charged at him "Is that all you got?"

The Doctor cleared his throat "Are you two done?"

"Not quite yet," I mumbled and quickly darted around Kol, bringing him to his knees, an arm around his throat "Don't try me, Kol."

"Sorry," he chocked, pulling at my arm. I let him go, ruffling his hair. My older brother got up, rubbing at his throat "How are you this strong?"

I smiled sweetly "You remember what I told you yesterday?"

"Oh," Kol realized "I… forgot."

We continued on our way to the Globe, Will falling back a bit to walk next to me "You and your brother are really close, aren't you?"

"Yeah," I nodded, tugging at my sleeve a little "We've always been really. Closer than we are to most of our other siblings."

"Most?"

I shrugged "It doesn't matter."

Inside the Globe, the Doctor jumped onto the stage, looking around "The columns there, right? Fourteen sides," he murmured "I've always wondered but I never asked. Tell me, Will. Why fourteen sides?"

"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best," Will shrugged, sitting down at the edge of the stage "That's all. Said it carried the sound well."

The Doctor frowned "Fourteen. Why does that ring a bell? Fourteen."

Martha looked over at him "There's fourteen lines in a sonnet."

"So there is," the Time Lord hummed "Good point. Words and shapes following the same design." He was pacing up and down in front of the stage "Fourteen lines, fourteen sides, fourteen facets. Oh, my head… Tetradecagon. Think, think, think. Words, letters, numbers, lines."

Martha leaned over, her eyes staying on the Doctor who was currently trying to beat something into his head… or out of his head "Is he always like this?"

"You have no idea," I grinned "Or maybe you have an idea… Trust me, what you've seen the other day was nothing new."

"This is just a theatre," Will pointed out, his eyes betraying his confusion.

The Doctor sighed "Oh, yeah. But a theatre's magic, isn't it? You should know. Stand on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis at the right time. Oh, you can make men weep or cry with joy. Change them. You can change people's minds with words in this place. But if you exaggerate that… "

"It's like your police box," Martha cried out "Small wooden box with all that power inside."

"Oh." The Doctor turned his eyes onto the other girl "Oh, Martha Jones, I like you. Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?"

Will shook his head, running a hand through his hair "You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place, lost his mind."

"Why?" the medical student questioned "What happened?"

"Started raving about witches," Will murmured "Hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled."

The Time Lord looked at the playwright unwaveringly "Where is he now?"

"Bedlam."

Martha looked very confused "What's Bedlam?"

"Bethlem Hospital," I told her without looking up "It's a madhouse."

"How do you know that?" Kol raised his eyebrow.

I shrugged "It's been around since the… the 13th century, I think. It was a Priory before becoming a hospital in the 14th century. I know a few people who were brought there…"

"We're going to go there," the Doctor demanded "Right now. Come on." Martha and I followed him immediately with Kol quickly joining us as well.

"Wait," Will called out "I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand." Two men entered at the same time as we walked out "Ralph, the last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round, learn it, speak it. Back before curtain up. And remember, kid, project. Eyes and teeth. You never know, the Queen might turn up." He walked after us, shaking his head "As if. She never does."

I grinned at him over my shoulder "You never know," I repeated.

Will snorted, shaking his head "So, Martha, tell me of Freedonia," he called out, making the other girl slow down a little "Where women can be doctors, writers, actors…"

"This country's ruled by a woman," the medical student pointed out.

"Ah, she's royal," Will gave back "That's God's business." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders "Though you, Tyra, are a royal beauty."

I coughed, almost stumbling over my own feet "Aren't you married?"

"But this is town," Will grinned.

Kol glanced over his shoulder with a grin, winking at me "I told you, Ty."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Well, you were the one who told me that 'no man could possibly be interested in me'. I told you that it was all Nik's fault. Well, and Rebekah's," my older brother shrugged "Maybe even Elijah's. Face it, Tyra. You're the baby of the family. None of us wanted you anywhere near the noblemen that we associated with."

I pressed my eyes closed, trying to shrug Will's arm off but the playwright held fast "I'm not a baby, Kol. I haven't been for a long time. And I'm not Henrik either. I have never been."

"I know that, sister," Kol murmured "That doesn't mean that we don't want to protect you."

I scoffed, shoving down the emotions "Yeah, we all know how Nik chooses to 'protect' me. I want to live my own life, Kol… Make my own mistakes. You're the only one who ever allowed me to be myself out of our siblings. Well, you and Finn but he…" I trailed off, shaking my head harshly "Doesn't matter. Let's go."

"Ty…" the Doctor spoke up when I was about to storm past him.

I avoided him, just walking through the streets towards where I knew Bedlam was. Behind me, I could feel the stared burning into my back but none of them said or did anything… Except for Kol who caught up with me easily " **I'm sorry,** " he whispered, pulling me to a halt.

" **Not your fault,** " I shook my head, looking at the ground " **I shouldn't have said that.** "

Kol looked down at me for a moment before he pulled me into a rough embrace " **I love you, sissy.** "

" **Love you too, Kol.** " My older brother pressed a kiss to the top of my head before ruffling my hair, making it messier than it has to be "I take it back," I huffed, trying to pat down my hair again "You're a menace."

"And you aren't?" the other Original laughed, shoving me lightly.

The Doctor shook his head "Are you two always like this? You haven't been nearly this bad when we met Niklaus."

"You should know," I pointed out with a small grin "After all, I told you about… a lot. Kol and I have always been an… interesting mix. Drove Elijah to distraction, I believe."

Kol coughed into his hand, hiding the grin "Messing with him is always fun. He's too serious."

"He is. But then again. He had to mature quickly especially when it came to Mikael. I mean, we can say what we want but Elijah is more of a father to all of us than Mikael has ever been," I mumbled.

"Might be because he's not…" Kol trailed off, wrapping his arm around my shoulders again "I can see your point."

As we entered the hospital together, Will grabbed my arm lightly "Are you well?"

I blinked up at him in surprise "Yes," I nodded "I'm sorry about my outburst. I shouldn't have said what I did…"

"No," Will shook his head, while the Doctor was talking to the keeper "I might not have known you for long, Tyra but I know that you meant every word. Speaking up for yourself is something you haven't done often, did you?"

I shrugged "I ran away a while back… But no, I never got the chance with my other brothers."

"Then you should take it," the playwright told me, pulling me along by my hand. When had he taken that? I couldn't even remember that…

The Keeper looked over his shoulder "Does my Lord Doctor wish some entertainment while he waits? I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for you. Mad dog in Bedlam."

"No," the Doctor snapped, his eyes lingering on Will and my interlocked hands for a moment "I don't."

"Well, wait here, my lords," the Keeper sighed "While I make him decent for the ladies." He walked off down the corridor that held cells on either side.

As soon as he was gone, Martha whirled around to glare at Shakespeare "So this is what you call a hospital, yeah? Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?"

"Oh, it's all so different in Freedonia," Will scoffed with an eye-roll.

"But you're clever," the medical student murmured "Do you honestly think this place is any good?"

Will's hand tightened around mine "I've been mad," he declared "I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose."

"Mad in what way?" Martha frowned, biting her lip.

"You lost your son." The Doctor's eyes showed sorrow and I knew he had felt the same pain that Will had.

Will looked down "My only boy. The Black Death took him and I wasn't even there."

"I don't know," Martha whispered "I'm sorry."

"It made me question everything," Will explained "The futility of this fleeting existence… To be or not to be." He blinked "Oh, that's quite good."

I nudged his side with a grin "Write that down. I like it."

"Maybe not," the playwright sighed "A bit pretentious?"

The Doctor raised his shoulder "Eh?"

"Don't listen to him," I shook my head, throwing the Doctor a look "He's just being an ass."

Kol snorted "You tell him, Ty."

"Oh, shut up, Kol," I grumbled.

The Keeper appeared at the end of the corridor "This way, my lord."

"I know how you feel," I murmured to Will while we followed the Keeper through the corridors to where Peter was "I lost my twin brother and it felt like the whole world just turned dark…" I could see Kol raise his head in front of me and could imagine his eyes narrowed at nothing in particular. He never did like it when I talked about Henrik because it made me feel worse most of the time "I was there, you know? I saw him being killed but I couldn't do anything… It still haunts me today. What if I could have done something? What if I had interfered?" I shook my head "There was nothing I could have done and I know that. I think you know that too."

"It doesn't make it better," Will pointed out quietly.

I smiled up at him, my head lightly resting on his shoulder "Doesn't make it worse either."

"They can be dangerous, my lord," the Keeper called out "Don't know their own strength."

The Doctor let out a noise of annoyance "I think it helps if you don't whip them. Now get out." He shooed the man away, turning to look at Peter cowering on the ground "Peter? Peter Streete?"

"He's the same as he was," Will shook his head "You'll get nothing out of him."

"Peter?" The Doctor crouched down, touching the man's shoulder gently. When Peter looked up at him, staring, the Time Lord raised his fingers Peter's temples "Peter, I'm the Doctor. Go into the past. One year ago. Let your mind go back. Back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A Winter's Tale. Let go." When Peter started to relax, the Doctor smiled "That's it. That's it, just let go." He lies him down on his cot "Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches."

Kol frowned "What is he doing?"

I shrugged "I think this is similar to compulsion. Just not quite as…"

"Witches spoke to Peter," Peter breathed, his eyes wide and unseeing "In the night, they whispered. They whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. Their design. The fourteen wall. Always fourteen. When the work was done they snapped poor Peter's wits."

The Doctor tilted his head "Where did Peter see the witches? Where in the city? Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me where were they?" he demanded urgently.

"All Hallows Street."

A witch – in the loosest sense of the word – appeared across the cell from the Doctor, close to Peter "Too many words," she cackled. I blinked at the cackling… thing and turned to Kol with a confused expression. Alien witches were the kind of witches from the story apparently… What the hell? I mean, human witches were one thing but this? My older brother stared at the hideous figure, his mouth opening and closing before he gave up and just continued staring.

Martha was in a similar state as my brother and I "What the hell?"

"Just one touch of the heart," the witch cried out, leaning forward to get even closer to Peter.

The Doctor was about to lunge forward but I kept a tight grip on his arm, ignoring his protest "No."

"Witch," Will breathed as the witch put her hand on Peter's chest, causing his heart to stop "I'm seeing a witch."

The witch looked up with a smirk "Now, who would be next, hmm? Just one touch. Oh, oh, I'll stop your frantic heart. Poor, fragile mortals."

"Let us out," Martha screamed, banging against the bars of the cell "Let us out."

"That's not going to work," the Time Lord muttered, not taking his eyes from the figure across the room "The whole building's shouting that."

Kol tugged at my hair from behind " **Why don't we just kill them?** "

" **I'm on a bit of a break,** " I told him " **The Doctor doesn't like it. He prefers… his pacifistic ways.** "

" **And you just go along?** " the other Original questioned.

I shrugged " **Honestly? It's kind of nice, I guess.** "

" **If you say so,** " Kol mumbled.

The witch stared at each of us in turn "Who will die first, hmm?"

"Well, if you're looking for volunteers," the Doctor shrugged, going to step forward.

I tightened my grip on his arm "Don't."

"Doctor, can you stop her?" Shakespeare questioned.

The witch laughed "No mortal has power over me."

"Oh, but there's power in words," the Time Lord told her, taking a step back and closer to me "If I can find the right one. If I can just know you…"

"None on Earth has knowledge of us," the witch pointed out.

The Doctor hummed "Then it's a good thing I'm here. Now think, think, think," he squinted at the figure "Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy. Ah!" He let out a victorious sound "Fourteen. That's it… Fourteen. The fourteen stars of the Rexel planetary configuration." The witch's smile fell from her face, shock colouring her features. The Doctor pointed at her "Creature, I name you Carrionite."

The witch screamed, vanishing in a slow flash of light. Martha walked forward hesitantly "What did you do?"

"I named her," the Doctor explained "The power of a name. That's old magic."

"I thought…"

The Time Lord shook his head, knowing what she was about to say "Well, it's just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead."

"What's an atom?" Kol furrowed his brow.

"Use them for what?" Will asked at the same time. For some reason, the two of them seemed to talk at the same time relatively often.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around me from behind, shooting a light glare at Shakespeare when he thought I wasn't looking. Well, I guessed he was glaring since Will's eyes lit up in amusement and he winked at me "The end of the world."

"That turned dark quickly," Kol snorted "Can you two stop glaring at each other and figure out a way to get this done with?"

The walk back to the Inn was quiet with the Doctor more or less sticking to my side the entire way. As soon as we were back in Shakespeare's room, the Time Lord started pacing up and down "The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."

"Well, I'm going for real," Will snorted.

Martha tilted her head, still not over the fact that she met an alien witch "But what do they want?"

"A new empire on Earth," the Doctor pointed out "A word of bones and blood and witchcraft."

Kol leaned against the wall "I really don't think they would be able to do it. There are a lot of people who would definitely want a word with them…"

"And win, most likely," I threw in.

"But how?"

The Doctor's gaze caught Shakespeare's "I'm looking at the man with the words."

"Me?" Will asked "But I've done nothing."

"Hold on, though," Martha murmured "What were you doing last night when that Carrionite was in the room?"

Will furrowed his brow "Finishing the play."

The Doctor leaned forward, glancing at the pages "What happens on the last page?"

"The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance," the playwright explained, glancing down "It's all as funny and thought-provoking as usual. Except for those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don't actually remember writing them."

"That's it," the Doctor exclaimed "They used you. They gave you the final words like a spell, like a code. Love's Labour's Won. It's a weapon." He ran a hand through his hair in agitation "The right combination of words, spoke at the right place, with the shake of the Globe as an energy converter. The play's the thing." Will opened his mouth but the Time Lord cut him off "And yes, you can have that."

"At least you weren't quoting Dickens when we met him," I snorted, shaking my head at him.

The Doctor crossed his arms, looking mock affronted "I'm making these up, thank you very much."

"Dream on," I shook my head "You're just using your knowledge to your advantage."

"Isn't that the whole idea of knowing something?" he challenged. I opened my mouth to argue before closing it again and huffed "That's answer enough." The Doctor nodded smugly before pulling out a very inaccurate map that Will handed him after asking for it "All Hallows Street. There it is… Ty, Martha, we'll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play. Kol?"

"I'm coming with you," the other Original said immediately "Will can manage, right?"

The playwright nodded "I'll do it. All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing."

"Oh, don't complain," the medical student shook her head.

Will grinned "I'm not," he denied "It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor." He bowed to me lightly "Tyra."

"Good luck, Shakespeare," the Doctor said, prodding me to move "Once more onto the breach."

Will hummed as we left the room "I like that. Wait a minute, that's one of mine."

I laughed from outside "You're just noticing that now?"

"Oh, just shift," the Doctor huffed with a smile, poking his head back into Will's room. The four of us moved through the streets quickly, trying to find the house as fast as we could "All Hallows Street," the Time Lord exclaimed, stopping to look around "But which house?"

Martha just looked at the Doctor in confusion "The thing is, though am I missing something here? The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me, look at Tyra. We're living proof."

I looked around in surprise "Curious. Didn't Rose ask the exact same thing in that dungeon in Cardiff?"

"She did… More or less," the Doctor agreed before turning back to look at the other girl "Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux? I know." He snapped his fingers "Back to the Future. It's like Back to the Future."

"The film?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes in exasperation "No, the novelisation. Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."

"What is he talking about?" Kol whispered.

"You'll find out in a few centuries," I told him "The movies are actually pretty cool."

Martha gasped "And he starts fading away. Oh, my God, am I going to fade?"

"You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?" The Time Lord looked around again, freezing when a door creaked open invitingly "Make that witch house…"

We walked over cautiously, Kol and I slightly behind the Doctor and Martha. Just after I entered, Kol stopped just outside "What are you doing?" Martha frowned, looking at my brother.

"How can you just walk in?" my older brother frowned, glancing at me.

I looked over my shoulder, the Doctor already looking further into the house "Martha, look after him. I think there's something I need to speak to Kol about… Again."

"Sure," the medical student shrugged, turning to follow the Time Lord. I ran my hand through my hair before walking back out of the door, joining Kol in the street.

He glanced at me curiously "How did you do that? Entering a house without an invitation?"

"I don't know," I mumbled "I honestly forgot about it… But I think it started when I met the Doctor… After – Of course." I rubbed my hand over my face in realization "The Tardis must have something to do with it. I don't know how or why but it has to be."

Kol blinked "You mentioned the Tardis… Spaceship? Is that what you said earlier?"

"Yes," I nodded "It's complicated and I will explain this to you sometime… Just not now, alright? There are a few concepts that you won't understand. And even more that I don't even understand."

"So this spaceship somehow makes you able to enter people's houses without permission? Is it just you?"

I frowned "No. A friend of mine travelled with us for a little and he was able to enter as well." I thought back about Damon's reaction "That… Honestly, how did I forget about that?"

My brother was about to say something else when we heard the Doctor's pained scream from inside. So far I hadn't really paid attention to anything happening inside the house but this made me worry. I threw myself against the door, tumbling into the house.

"Oh, my God, Doctor," Martha breathed, stumbling over to where the Doctor was lying "Don't worry. I've got you…"

I tilted my head "What did she do?"

"Stopped his heart," the medical student whispered "I'm sorry… I…"

"That's exactly it," I pointed out, nudging the Time Lord's side with my boot "You can get up now."

Realisation dawned on Martha's features "Two hearts…"

"You're making a habit out of this," the Doctor grinned, making to get up. I steadied him when he pitched forward, clutching at his chest "Ah! I've only got one heart working. How do you people cope? I've got to get the other one started. Hit me! Hit me on the chest!" Martha did as he asked, hitting him on the right side "Dah! Other side. Now, on the back, on the back. Left a bit. Dah, lovely. There we go. Badda booma!" He freed himself from my grasped and ran off "Well, what are you standing there for? Come one! The Globe!"

"Doctor," I called out, seeing him run to the right. When he stopped, I pointed the way we came from "It's that way."

He shook his head "No, it's not…"

"Yes, it is," Kol agreed with me, patting the Time Lord's back "If nothing else, Ty at least has a good sense of direction."

I glared at my older brother "'If nothing else…'" I sighed and looked at Martha "Do you think I can exchange my brother for a dog? At least that one wouldn't make fun of me all the time."

The medical student laughed "I know what you mean," she nodded "But I doubt it…"

"Pity," I commented, dodging Kol's attempt to grab me.

"You two really are like children," the Doctor shook his head "You know, I don't think I ever saw you quite this relaxed, Tyra." I shrugged lightly, not looking at any of them.

The closer we were getting to the Globe, the stronger the wind around us got. A bad storm raged over the building as the audience panicked, trampling each other in their quest to get out of the theatre. They didn't have much luck though because just after we entered through the stage door, the witches magicked the door close.

"Stop the play," the Doctor ranted, seeing Shakespeare waking up backstage "I think that was it. Yeah, I said, stop the play."

Will rubbed at his head in pain "I hit my head."

"Yeah, don't rub it," the Time Lord commented "You'll go bald." The screaming outside picked up and the Doctor straightened "I think that's my cue." He ran out onto the stage with all of us following behind. I blinked at the creatures that were hovering in a whirlwind above the area for the common folk.

Lilith gasped, her eyes widening from her place in the private box "The Doctor. He lives… Then watch this world become a blasted heath. They come. They come." She held the crystal out into the red light, causing several bat-like creatures to fly into the theatre. They circled around, scaring the humans even more before flying up into the sky.

The Doctor whirled around and grabbed Will's arm "Come on, Will. History needs you."

"But what can I do?" the playwright cried over the wind.

"Reverse it."

Shakespeare looked at him with a deadpan stare "How am I supposed to do that?"

"The Shape of the Globe," the Time Lord explained "Gives words power but you're the wordsmith, the one true genius. The only man clever enough to do it."

"But what words?" Will demanded "I have none ready."

I grabbed his shoulders "You're William Shakespeare. If anyone can do it, it's you, Will."

Will still didn't look convinced, so the Doctor continued "Trust yourself, Will. When you're locked away in your room, the words just come, don't they, like magic. Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm. Words that last forever. That's what you do, Will. You choose perfect words."

Will closed his eyes for a moment before he took a deep breath "Close up this din of hateful, dire decay, decomposition of your witches' plot. You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Doctor tells me I am not."

"No," Lilith screamed in horror "Words of power."

"Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show," the playwright continued "Between the points…" He glanced at the Doctor for the answer.

"Seven six one three nine oh."

Shakespeare repeated the numbers "Banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee…"

We all looked at each other for a moment before Martha's head snapped up "Expelliarmus."

"Expelliarmus," Will finished, pointing in the direction of the whirlwind.

As the Carrionites started to get sucked into the tornado, the Doctor grinned "Good old JK…" One after the other, the other aliens were sucked back towards the crystal that Lilith was holding, pages flying into the storm as well. The backstage door opened, allowing them to be sucked in "Love's Labour's Won… There it goes."

The skies cleared with a flash and a bang. After a few moments, someone started clapping and then the whole audience joined in "They think it was all special effects?" Will bowed to the applauding crowd with the actors, while the Doctor wandered off and up to the private box the Carrionites had been in before, grabbing the crystal.

The next morning, I was leaning against Kol's chest comfortably watching Shakespeare and Martha talk "And I say, a heart for a hart and a dear for a deer."

"I don't get it," the medical student shook her head with a puzzled frown.

"A hart is a deer," I told her.

Martha shook her head "Still don't get it."

I rolled my eyes "I'm not explaining it." My gaze drifted to the Bard "You have a dirty mind, by the way."

"Why thank you," Shakespeare grinned.

"That wasn't… Oh, never mind," I sighed.

The man turned back to Martha "Tell me a joke from Freedonia then."

"Okay," Martha nodded "Shakespeare walks into a pub and the landlord says, Oi mate, you're Bard."

Shakespeare chuckled "That's brilliant. Doesn't make sense, mind you, but never mind that."

"I don't get it either," Kol huffed, his chin on my shoulder.

It was then that the Doctor walked through the door that lead backstage with a small stiff ruff around his neck and an animal head in hand "Good props store back there. I'm not sure about this though. Reminds you of a Sycorax, Ty?"

"It kinda does, doesn't it?" I blinked, looking at the skull.

"Sycorax," Shakespeare murmured "Nice word. I'll have that off you as well."

My head shot up "I thought I knew the word… Not in the same context but… The Tempest."

The Doctor looked at me with exasperation in his eyes "I should be on ten percent… How's your head?"

"Still aching," the Bard answered, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Here," the Time Lord took off the ruff and put it on Shakespeare "I got you this. Neck brace. Wear that for a few days till it's better, although you might want to keep it. It suits you."

Martha tilted her head "What about the play?"

"Gone," the Doctor shook his head "I looked all over. Every single copy of Love's Labours Won went up in the sky."

Shakespeare sighed sadly "My lost masterpiece."

"You could write it up again," Martha pointed out.

I shook my head "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, it is known as the lost play after all."

"Is it?" Kol asked.

I shrugged "It will be."

"Oh, but I've got new ideas," Shakespeare smiled, his eyes dragging from me to the Doctor "Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons, in memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet."

"Hamnet?" Martha blinked in surprise.

I coughed, trying to hide the amusement at the look the Bard shot her "That's him," he nodded.

"Hamnet?"

"What's wrong with that?" Shakespeare asked, sounding slightly affronted.

The Doctor shook his head "Anyway, time we were off. I've got a nice attic in the Tardis where this lot can scream for all eternity."

"Attic?" I questioned, getting up from the ground "Since when do you have an attic?"

"Fine," he sighed "A suitcase underneath the grating by the console."

I smirked "That sounds about right."

"I have to get Martha back to Freedonia," the Doctor continued.

Shakespeare looked up, mirth shining in his eyes "You mean travel on through time and space."

"You what?" the Time Lord gaped.

The Bard smirked "You're from another world like the Carrionites and Martha is from the future. Tyra though… She's complicated."

"Aw," I cooed playfully "Thanks."

"That's incredible," the Doctor breathed in surprise "You are incredible."

Shakespeare smiled "We're alike in many ways, Doctor. Martha, Tyra, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse. A sonnet for two beautiful ladies. I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate."

"Will," Burbage called, coming in with Kempe. They were two of the actors that Will had introduced us to last night after the drama with the Carrionites was over and done with.

Kempe took over, sounding out of breath "Will, you'll never believe it. She's here. She's turned up."

"We're the talk of the town. She heard about last night," Burbage nodded "She wants us to perform it again."

Martha tilted her head in confusion "Who?"

"Her Majesty," Burbage answered "She's here."

A fanfare sounded and the elderly Queen Elizabeth entered with two pikemen flanking her. The Doctor grinned in delight "Queen Elizabeth the First."

"Doctor?" the Queen breathed.

The Time Lord's smile fell in shock "What?"

"My sworn enemy," the royal continued, glaring at the man.

"What?"

The Queen gestured to her people "Off with his head."

"What?" Shakespeare laughed at the Doctor in the background and I couldn't help the small snort that escaped me. I really wasn't surprised that the Time Lord had pissed off another monarch. He seemed to have a knack for that.

Martha shoved the Doctor "Never mind what, just run. See you, Will, and thanks."

"Stop that pernicious Doctor," the Queen shouted as the pikemen chased the Doctor and Martha out and into the streets.

"Well, I guess it's my time to say my goodbyes as well," I spoke up, looking at Will "It was nice to meet you, Will."

The Bard drew me closer and without missing a beat pressed his lips to mine "Farewell."

"What did I do to earn that?" I questioned quietly, leaning my head to the side as Shakespeare's hands caressed my face.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked.

I bit my lip "I don't know," I shook my head "I would like that but it's up to the Doctor."

"You love him, don't you?" the Bard asked knowingly "It is clear in your eyes."

"What?" I frowned "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kol made a noise in the back of his throat "Sure you don't, sissy."

"Oh, come off it, Kol," I rolled my eyes "He's my friend."

"I don't think that his feelings are only those of a friend either," Will pointed out "Every time we were close, he was trying very hard not to interfere. You did not notice?"

I shook my head "There is nothing going on between the Doctor and me."

My older brother pulled me from Will's arms and into his own "When will I see you again?"

"Not too long now," I smiled "I would tell you where he stashed us but I honestly don't know."

"I'll miss you, Ty," Kol murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead "Now go and find your man."

I scoffed "Why do I like you again?"

"You love me," the other Original shot back cheekily.

"Sometimes I wonder," I shook my head, hugging Will one last time "Thank you. It was really nice to meet you and write that story about your son, alright?" It was then that I remembered that the Queen was still in the theatre "Your Majesty," I bowed my head "It has been too long."

"Lady Tyra," Queen Elizabeth smiled "I see you still haven't left the Doctor."

I raised my shoulder in a shrug "It certainly seems so. I should go now. Goodbye." With those words, I jogged out of the theatre and used my vampire speed as soon as I was outside, sticking to the shadows to make sure no one saw me.

"Stop in the name of the Queen," I heard one of the Pikemen call out as the Doctor and Martha reached the Tardis.

Martha looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw me behind the Doctor "What have you done to upset her?"

"How should I know?" the Time Lord shrugged "Haven't even met her yet. That's time travel for you. Still, can't wait to find out."

"Well," I spoke up as he opened the door to the Tardis "You have a knack of pissing off monarchs. I'm not surprised."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Oh, hush you. But it is something to look forward to." I passed him, walking up to the console as he got in behind me, shutting the door quickly "That was fun."

"I never thought there would be… Erm… Alien witchy creatures," I spoke up "Although… If there are human witches then I really shouldn't be surprised."

Martha stared at me "Human witches? You said that before but I don't believe you."

"There is," I shrugged "Same as there are werewolves and vampires."

"Yeah, right," the other girl snorted.

I looked at her "Then explain to me how my brother was here. In 1599."

"He's a time traveller too."

"He didn't even know until I told him," I smirked "Face it. I'm a vampire."

Martha shook her head "No way."

I sighed and looked at the Doctor. The Time Lord sighed and shrugged "Your choice."

"Alright then." I sped towards the other girl, my vampire features on display "I really am a vampire."

"But that's…" she broke off, fear in her eyes. I had no idea how she didn't put together one and one but then again… She was still getting used to the time travel part, so I really couldn't blame her.

I rolled my eyes and let her go "Relax. I don't bite… Most of the time. I'm a good vampire… Well, kind of."

"Try not to scare her away, Tyra," the Doctor remarked, looking up from the console "You look tired… Both of you. Why don't you show Martha to a room?"

"Sure," I shrugged, getting his subtle message. He wanted the medical student to come along for at least one more trip and I didn't have anything against that. Martha was actually pretty nice "Come on."

The other girl followed me out of the console room, keeping her distance from me "I – I have a question."

I turned, looking at her "Shoot."

"Yesterday. Why didn't you help the Doctor?" Martha asked curiously "I mean, you could have done something, helped him, right?"

"I… Neither the Doctor nor I were sure whether the Judoon scan would show me as human," I told her quietly. A part of me felt guilty but I knew that the Doctor would have killed me, had I gotten myself into even more trouble while he was unconscious "What help would I have been, had they incinerated me?"

Martha nodded "I guess that makes sense. You two are close, aren't you?"

"We've known each other for two years, yeah," I shrugged.

The other girl bit her lip "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you… You don't have to answer or anything but… You didn't seem too happy when the Doctor mentioned Rose last night but you mention her as well."

I ran a hand through my hair "This doesn't get to the Doctor. Understood? He doesn't know." When Martha nodded, I sighed "Rose and I didn't really get along. She was jealous of how close the Doctor and I were and… She was one reason that actually cost me a good friend of mine."

"Oh," the medical student nodded "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I told her "Not your fault, is it?" I stopped by a door "You can sleep here. If you want anything else in the room, decoration wise or anything… Just close your eyes and picture it. The Tardis will do the rest. Goodnight." Before she could question me more, I walked away.


	19. Gridlock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola! Cómo estáis? And yes. Spanish. Sorry about that. I'm about to fall asleep just writing this. The culture in Spain is so different from what I'm used to. They eat dinner like... around four or five hours later than I normally do which is... quite something.
> 
> I apologize for the quick rant. I blink and I see Spanish words dancing in front of my eyes. If there were any Weeping Angels here now, I'd probably be able to not blink. Aaaaand now... I'll shut up.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"Just one trip," the Doctor muttered to himself as he walked around the console "That's what I said. One trip in the Tardis and then home. Although…" He looked up at Martha with a grin "Although I suppose we could stretch the definition. Take one trip into the past, one trip into the future. How do you fancy that?"

Martha shook her head, a big grin stealing its way onto her face "No complaints from me."

"How about a different planet?" the Doctor asked.

I perked up "Ooh, we could go to…"

"Can we go to yours?" the medical student cut me off, looking at the Time Lord pleadingly.

I bit down on my lip, glancing at the Doctor nervously, unsure of what to do. He shook his head, the sadness only showing for a split second "Ah, there's plenty of other places."

"Come on, though," Martha pleaded "I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?" She looked to me "Have you been there before?"

I shook my head "Martha… Drop it. Please?"

"No, come on," the medical student dismissed me "Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?"

The Doctor shot me an uncomfortable look and I walked over to him, resting my hand on his back out of Martha's view. He licked his lips "I suppose it is."

"Great big temples and cathedrals," Martha gushed, getting more and more excited.

"Yeah," the Time Lord breathed.

Martha looked like she was enjoying this way too much. Not that I could blame her. She was excited… And didn't realize that she was hurting him "Lots of planets in the sky?"

The Doctor's eyes were unfocused as he recalled the view he had told me about often "The sky is a burnt orange with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass capped with snow."

"Can we go there?" the medical student breathed.

"Nah," the Time Lord shook his head, shrugging off my hand "Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home. Instead, this is much better." He started running around the console, flicking switches left and right "Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth. Second hop of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York." He paused "Although, technically speaking it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."

We walked out into the rain. Martha huffed, zipping her jacket close immediately "Oh, that's nice," she smiled sarcastically "Time Lord version of dazzling."

"Nah," the Doctor waved off "Bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover." Just before we could find shelter, I flinched when a drop of water hit my neck, sliding down my collar. The only reason why I didn't like rain too much… It always got into the places it shouldn't and it was cold.

"Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon," Martha shrugged, looking around with her nose wrinkled.

I shook my head "Well, I guess there's a reason why it's called New Earth now, is there?"

The Doctor turned around to face the monitor behind him "Hold on, hold on. Let's have a look." He used his sonic to get the thing working again.

" _And the driving should be clear and easy with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway,_ " a woman's voice explained as a picture of a high-tech Manhattan was shown with flying cars zooming about. It looked almost exactly like it had a year ago when we went to that hospital and met Cassandra.

"Oh, that's more like it," the Time Lord exclaimed "That's the view we had last time. This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city."

Martha raised her eyebrow in amused annoyance "You've brought me to the slums?"

"Martha, word of warning," I told her "We are most likely always going to end up in places like this… The Doctor has a knack for landing where we don't want to be."

"That's not true," the Time Lord exclaimed "It's much more interesting down here anyway. It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."

The medical student shook her head "You'd enjoy anything."

The Doctor grinned "That's me. Ah, the rain's stopping. Better and better."

"When you say last time… was that the two of you and Rose?"

"Er, yeah," the Time Lord nodded and I sighed in exasperation "Yea, it was, yeah."

Martha sent him an indecipherable look "You're taking me to the same planets that you took her?"

"What's wrong with that?" the Doctor asked in confusion.

I shook my head at him "Oh, you idiot."

"What?"

Martha sighed "Nothing. Just ever heard the word rebound?"

She headed off down the alley and I shot the Doctor a light glare before following her "Are you okay?"

"I just don't get it," the medical student mumbled, glancing over her shoulder at the Time Lord "Why…?"

"Martha, we lost Rose not too long ago," I told her "Give him a little, alright? I swear that he's not usually like this."

The other girl nodded her head, looking a little disbelieving "Right… Hey, have you really not been to his planet yet?"

"I –" I broke off with a sigh "It's not for me to tell but… Could you let off him a little?"

"Why?" Martha frowned "And what was up with him earlier?"

I shook my head "It's his story, Martha. Give him time, alright? You haven't known him for long and he's…"

"I get it," the other girl nodded with a small smile "I might not understand what's going on but… I can see what's in front of me. You're a good friend, you know?"

"Thanks," I smiled lightly.

Martha shook her head "No, seriously. The way the two of you act… You're so close and I'm not sure I can compete with that."

"You don't have to," I pointed out "The Doctor has a huge heart. More than enough for all his Companions. Oh… Remind me to tell you about the incident between Rose and Sarah Jane sometime. It was epic."

"I don't think I'm here long enough," Martha mumbled.

I patted her shoulder before making my way over to the Doctor. We had kept our voices down enough that he probably wouldn't have heard anything "It's not all as it seems. If you ask me, you'd do well with us. And I'll put in a good word for you if that's what you want."

Just as we rejoined him, a man opened the front of his stall "Oh," he exclaimed, seeing us standing there "You should have said. How long have you been there? Happy. You want happy."

"Customers," a second vendor breathed, as two more stalls opened "Customers. We've got customers."

"We're in business," the third laughed "Mother, open up the Mellow and the Read."

The first man looked down at us "Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy."

"Anger. Buy some anger," the second pharmacist called over the other.

"Get some Mellow," the third cried out "Makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."

The first man looked at the others "Don't go to them. They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"

The Doctor shook his head and reached for my hand, intent on getting away from them "No, thanks."

Martha leaned over to us "Are they selling drugs?"

"I think they're selling moods," the Time Lord pointed out.

I raised my eyebrow at him "Isn't that the same thing?" More people started to enter the area, dressed in rags.

A woman walked over to the stalls, looking between the three people "I want to buy Forget," she spoke up.

The third pharmacist leaned forward, arranging her face in a worried expression though her eyes were lit up at the prospect of a sale "I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?"

"It's my mother and father," the woman sniffed "They went on the motorway."

"Oh, that's a swine," the pharmacist mumbled in fake sympathy and held out a small square piece of plastic "Try this. Forget Forty-three. That's two credits."

The Doctor stepped towards them "Sorry, but hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?"

"They drove off," the woman explained, not really telling us much at all.

"Yeah, but they might drive back," the Time Lord pointed out, tilting his head.

The woman scoffed "Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them."

The Doctor frowned, trying to understand what was happening here "But they can't have gone far. You could find them…" When she went to stick the Forget Forty-three to her neck, he shook his head violently "No. No, no, don't."

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" the woman blinked, the tab sticking to her neck.

"Your parents," the Doctor said "Your mother and father. They're on the motorway."

The woman tilted her head "Are they?" she asked airily "That's nice. I'm sorry, I won't keep you." With that said, she wandered away, still in a bit of a daze.

"So that's the human race five billion years in the future," Martha snorted "Off their heads on chemicals."

I whirled around when I heard someone coming closer and was about to reach out to pull Martha away when a man grabbed her from behind. A woman pointed a gun at the Doctor and me. I was going to get Martha despite the gun but the Time Lord placed his hand on my shoulder. The man looked at us apologetically "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. We just need three, that's all."

"No," the Doctor hissed, holding out his hand "Let her go. I'm warning you, let her go. Whatever you want, I can help. The three of us, we can help. But first, you've got to let her go."

"I'm sorry," the woman pointing the gun at us breathed, voice shaking harshly "I'm really sorry. Sorry."

The man dragged Martha backwards through a green door. I heard it lock behind them. The Doctor surged forward, trying to get it open "Dammit," he cursed.

"Why did you stop me?" I asked, shooting him a look "I don't get it. Why don't you want me helping when I can?"

The Time Lord sighed, still trying to get the door open "They had a gun, Tyra. Would it kill you to look after yourself once in a while?"

"But…"

"Not now," the Doctor sighed, hitting the door harshly "Martha." He whirled around, storming back to the stalls, hammering on the closed hatch.

The woman pharmacist smiled at us "Thought you'd come back. Do you want some happy?"

"Those people," the Doctor pressed out from between gritted teeth "Who were they? Where did they take her?"

"They've taken her to the motorway," the first man pointed out.

The woman pharmacist nodded with a shrug "Looked like carjackers to me."

"I'd give up now, darling," the second one smiled "You won't see her again."

"Used to be thriving, this place," the first man murmured, looking around him "You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?"

"It's the car-sharing policy," the woman pharmacist told us "To save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults."

"This motorway," the Time Lord started, grabbing my hand tightly "How do I get there?"

The woman pointed down the alley "Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You can't miss it. Tell you what. How about some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, lives."

The Doctor glared at the three of them "Word of advice, all of you. Cash up, close down and pack your bags."

"Why's that then?" the woman pharmacist smirked in amusement.

"Because as soon as we've found her, alive and well," the Doctor explained, the Oncoming Storm swirling behind his eyes "And we will find her alive and well. Then I'm coming back and this street is closing tonight." He glared at them one more time before he turned around, stalking off "Come on, Ty."

I followed him down the alley and over to a door "So, how do you plan on finding her? I mean, there must be a hundred if not thousands of cars there…"

"I don't know," the Doctor sighed, working on the door of the lay by "But we can't give up hope. Do you remember how often Rose vanished."

"There you go again," I pointed out "Martha isn't Rose, Doctor and the sooner you understand that, the better."

He shot me a look "I know that, alright?"

"If you know then do something about it. I don't want you to lose someone like Martha just because you're being an asshole," I explained seriously as he managed to get the door open.

"We'll talk about this later," the Time Lord muttered, stepping through the metal door and out onto a small balcony. He started coughing from the exhaust fumes immediately with me not far behind.

"What the hell?" I coughed, looking at the stationary traffic that was stacked in all directions including up and down. Okay, this was getting harder by the second. And I wasn't only talking about the Martha situation. It was getting harder to breathe from the sheer volume of the exhaust fumes. I froze when I heard something coming from far below. I didn't know what it was but it sounded… ominous.

I was about to mention something when the nearest car opened its door and a figure in a WW2 flying jacket, helmet and goggles looked out "Hey. You daft little street struts. What are you doing standing there?" he called out "Either get out or get in. Come on…" The Doctor reached out his hand, pulling me inside along with him. Both of us were gasping for breath, greedily sucking in the clear air "Did you ever see the like?"

A dark-haired woman put oxygen masks on both of us, patting my hair in reassurance "Here you go."

"Did you hear that?" I gasped, looking at the Doctor "There was something below."

"There are cars below," the man pointed out.

I shook my head violently, breathing in the fresh air "No, no… It wasn't cars."

"Then what?" the Doctor wondered, coughing a little as the last of the fumes left his lungs.

"Just standing there," the man snorted "Breathing it in." He pulled off his scarf and the goggles, revealing a cat person. I barely blinked. We were on New Earth… I really shouldn't be surprised "There's this story, says back in the old days, on Junction forty sevens, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet."

The woman let out a laugh "Oh, you're making it up."

"A fifty-foot head," the man exclaimed "Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose…" I exchanged a look with the Doctor, my breathing becoming normal again.

"Oh, stop it," the woman grimaced "That's disgusting."

The cat man raised his eyebrow "What, did you never pick your nose?"

The woman shook her head, looking out of the windshield "Bran, we're moving."

"Right," Bran nodded, setting the car in motion "I'm there. I'm on it." With a cloud of white smoke from the exhaust pipe, every car moved forward a tiny – almost insignificant distance "Twenty yards. We're having a good day…" He turned around to us "And who might you two be? Very well-dressed for hitchhikers."

The Doctor pulled off his oxygen mask "Thanks. Sorry, I'm the Doctor and that's Tyra." I waved taking a few more breaths.

"Medical man," the cat man nodded "My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie."

"Nice to meet you," Valerie smiled.

Brannigan nodded to the curtain behind us "And that's the rest of the family behind you."

The Doctor blinked, drawing back the piece of cloth, revealing a litter of kittens in a basket. I grinned lightly. They were so freaking cute actually. Hold on… Did one of them just say mama? "Ah," the Doctor grimaced a little "That's nice. Hello." He glanced over his shoulder "How old are they?"

"Just two months," Valerie explained.

"Poor little souls," Brannigan sighed "They've never known the ground beneath their paws. Children of the motorway."

The Time Lord tilted his head "What, they were born in here?"

"We couldn't stop," Valerie shrugged "We heard there were jobs going out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."

"Wait…" I spoke up "How… How long have you been driving?"

Brannigan hummed "We've been driving for twelve years now."

The Doctor choked on air "I'm sorry?"

"Yeah," Brannigan nodded "Started out as newlyweds. Feels like yesterday."

Valerie shot her husband a deadpan look "Feels like twelve years to me."

"Ah, sweetheart, but you still love me," he smiled.

The Doctor shook his head "Twelve years? How far did you come? Where did you start?"

"Battery Park," the cat man told the Time Lord "It's five miles back."

I blinked several times "You… Drove five miles in twelve years? You're joking, right?"

"I think she's a bit slow," Branigan whispered to Valerie.

I shot him an annoyed look "And I can hear you…"

"Where are you from?" the woman questioned, studying us curiously.

"Never mind that," the Doctor waved off "We've got to get out. Our friend's in one of these cars. She was taken hostage. We should get back to the Tardis."

Branigan shook his very furry head "You're too late for that. We've passed the lay-by. You're passengers now."

"When's the next lay-by?" the Time Lord wanted to know.

Branigan hummed "Oh… Six months?"

The Doctor gaped at him for a moment before I nudged his side "We can't wait for six months, Doctor."

"I know that," he nodded before leaning forward, hacking into the communications system easily "I need to talk to the police."

" _Thank you for your call,"_ the computer said " _You've been placed on hold._ "

The Time Lord blinked "But you're the police."

" _Thank you for your call. You've been placed on hold,_ " it repeated.

"Is there anyone else?" the Doctor sighed, looking at Branigan "I once met the Duke of Manhattan. Is there a way of getting through to him?"

Branigan chuckled "Oh now, ain't you lordly?"

"We need to find out friend," the Doctor pressed, trying to make the cat man understand how urgent this was.

Valerie shook her head "You can't make outside calls. The motorway's completely enclosed."

"What about the other cars?"

"Oh, we've got contact with them, yeah," Branigan nodded "Well, some of them, anyway. They've got to be on your friends list. Now, let's see. Who's nearby? Ah, the Cassini sisters." The screen showed a picture of two older women alone with a number. 317a1 "Still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Branigan here."

One of the women rolled her eyes " _Get off the line, Branigan. You're a pest and a menace._ "

"Oh, come now, sisters. Is that any way to talk to an old friend?" the cat man chided with a grin.

" _You know full well we're not sisters,_ " the same woman shot back " _We're married._ "

Branigan shook his head "Oh, stop that modern talk. I'm an old-fashioned cat. Now, I've got hitchhikers here. One calls himself the Doctor."

"Hello," the Doctor waved "Sorry. I'm looking for someone called Martha Jones. She's been carjacked. She's inside one of these vehicles but I don't know which one."

The second woman put down her knitting, grabbing a huge book "Wait a minute. Could I ask, what entrance did they use?"

The Time Lord blinked before looking down at me in confusion. I shrugged and pointed to Branigan. He nodded "Where were we?"

"Pharmacy Town," the cat man replied.

"Pharmacy Town," the Doctor repeated, going back to looking at the women "About twenty minutes ago."

The older woman hummed "Let's have a look."

She started leafing through the book, while her wife chuckled "Just my look to marry a car-spotter."

"In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town," the woman with the book cut in.

I looked up "They said something about needing three. Something about a fast-lane."

The woman looked back down at her book "Ah, there we are. Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And car number is four six five diamond six."

"That's it," the Doctor exclaimed, wrapping an arm around me happily "So how do we find them?"

"Ah. Now there I'm afraid I can't help," the woman shrugged apologetically.

The Time Lord turned to Branigan "Call them on this thing. We've got their number. Diamond six."

"But not if they're designated for the fast lane. It's a different class," Branigan shrugged.

"So… in other words… There's nothing we can do?" I asked, crossing my arms "Just wait?"

The women on the screen sighed "You could try to call the police? It's everything I can tell you."

The Doctor wrapped his arms around me, causing me to rest my head on his chest. He took a deep breath "We've got to go to the fast lane. Take us down."

"Not in a million years," Branigan scoffed.

"You've got four passengers," the Time Lord pointed out.

I turned my face a little, seeing the cat man's features darken "I'm still not going."

"She's alone," the Doctor argued "And she's lost. She doesn't belong on this planet and it's all my fault. I'm asking you Branigan. Take me down."

"Is it – Is it because of what I heard?" I asked "Like… Earlier? I heard something way down below."

Valerie shook her head "We're not discussing it. The conversation is closed."

"So we keep on driving," the Doctor remarked, his expression set.

Branigan nodded "Yes, we do."

"For who long?"

"Till the journey ends."

The Doctor grabbed the radio handset "Mrs Cassini, this is the Doctor. Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?"

"Oh," one of the Mrs Cassinis answered "We were amongst the first. It's been twenty-three years now."

The Doctor hummed "And in all that time, have you ever seen a police car?"

"I'm – I'm not sure," the book woman answered, exchanging an unsure glance with her wife.

The Time Lord nodded at the book on her lap "Look at your notes. Any police?"

"Not as such."

"Or an ambulance?" the Doctor continued "Rescue service? Anything official. Ever."

The woman shook her head "I can't keep note of everything."

"What if there's no one out there?"

Branigan snatched the microphone back "Stop it. The Cassinis were doing you a favour."

"Someone's got to ask because you might not talk about it but it's there in your eyes. What if the traffic jam never stops?" the Doctor said, staring directly at all of the others.

"There's a whole city above us," Branigan pointed out "The mighty city-state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us."

I raised an eyebrow "Then where are they?"

"What if there's no help coming, not ever?" the Doctor continued "What if there's nothing? Just the motorway, with the cars going round and round and round, never stopping. Forever."

Valerie had tears in her eyes as she clutched her ears "Shut up," she hissed "Just… Shut up."

" _This is Sally Calypso,_ " the computer piped up " _And it's that time again. The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic, the perfect setting for the daily contemplation._ "

Branigan squared his shoulders "You think you know us so well, Doctor. But we're not abandoned. Not while we have each other."

" _This is for all you out there on the roads. We're so sorry. Drive safe._ "

I tugged at the Doctor's sleeve, pulling him a little away from Branigan and Valerie who had started to sing along with everyone else on the motorway "That message," I mumbled "It seemed… odd."

"Yeah," the Time Lord nodded "I noticed that too. 'We're so sorry'?"

"So, what are we going to do now?" I asked.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "If they won't take us, I'll go down on my own."

"What do you think you're doing?" Branigan demanded.

"Finding my own way," the Time Lord huffed "I usually do."

I watched him sonicking the trapdoor in the floor of the car "You're not going down there on your own."

"You're not coming with me," he shook his head "I know that you like putting yourself in danger but I won't stand by anymore and watch you hurt yourself, Ty."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance "Oh, come off it. You know as well as I do that it won't kill me."

"Doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt," the Doctor pointed out quietly.

"Does it matter?" I asked, my voice as emotionless as possible "It helped others. Why shouldn't I?"

The Time Lord shook his head "You have to stop punishing yourself for the things that aren't your fault."

I gaped at him for a moment before I gritted my teeth "You know what? Just leave." I turned away from him, reaching out for the tiny kittens on the bed. They were so cute and even if I wasn't too much of a cat lover… I could definitely see why some people were.

"Tyra," the Doctor sighed before finally getting the trapdoor open "Just…"

" _Capsule open,"_ the computer announced.

The Time Lord straightened up for a moment, seeing a car stop directly beneath. I glanced down the door but didn't say anything else "Here we go." He took off his coat, holding it out to me with a pleading look "Would you take care of this for me."

I looked at him for a moment before a small smile stole its way across my face "Yeah."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Valerie looked at the Time Lord with wide eyes as he got ready to jump down "But you can't jump."

"If it's any consolation, Valerie," the Doctor grinned at the woman "Right now, I'm having kittens."

Branigan raised his eyebrow "This Martha. She must mean an awful lot to you."

The Time Lord shrugged "Hardly know her. I was too busy showing off… And I lied to her." At that, he looked at me mournfully "Couldn't help it, just lied." He shook his head sharply, sending me one last smile before crouching down "Bye then." The Doctor dropped down onto the roof of the car below.

"He's completely insane," Valerie breathed in shock.

"That," Branigan added "And a bit magnificent."

I snorted, leaning back against the bed comfortably "He is. But as much as I hate to admit it, he knows what he's doing… most of the time." With that said, the three lapsed into silence. I let my head drop against the soft mattress and letting my eyes drift shut slowly.

I didn't know how much time passed since I drifted off but when I opened my eyes, I was snuggling with the Doctor's coat, my face buried in the material. I blinked a few times, trying to find out what woke me up. There had been a loud noise but I wasn't sure whether that was part of my breath or not. All of a sudden, someone started cutting through the roof hatch right above me… Branigan grimaced "Just what we need. Pirates."

"I'm calling the police," Valerie called out, trying to run the person off with her threat alone.

The hatch dropped down to the place I had been sitting in and a cat-woman hung herself upside down through the hatch, a gun pointed at us "The Doctor. Where is he?"

I narrowed my eyes at her "I know you, don't I?"

"Novice Hame," the cat-woman told me and I gasped.

"You're one of those cat-nun-nurses from the hospital a bit ago… I thought you were arrested?" I asked curiously.

The cat lowered her head "I've sought forgiveness," she told me "Now, where is the Doctor? If you're here…?"

"He's gone down to look for a friend of ours. She's on the… on the fast lane?" I glanced at Branigan, silently asking him whether I said that right.

Hame nodded in realization before glancing down at the car beneath "Thank you." She was about to jump down before she remembered something "He said something about a warrior. The Doctor's warrior. That's you, isn't it?"

"Who?" I questioned, my eyes narrowing again. I knew that title. Someone had called me that before…

Before I could open my mouth to ask another question, Hame shot forward, wrapping something around my wrist "Forgive me."

There was a flash and I fell to the ground with a groan "A little warning would have been nice," I grumbled "Like… How hard can it be to say 'Oh, careful. I'm giving you a teleport bracelet.'"

" _Are you done?_ " an amused voice questioned, reverberating inside my head. I looked around in confusion. It was the Face of Boe but I couldn't see him anywhere. The only thing that I could see in the darkness were huge shapes going up around me " _Over here._ "

I walked into the direction I guessed he was in and smiled when my eyes fell on the glass container with the giant head inside "Hello again."

" _Hello, Valkyrie._ "

"You… But…" I stuttered, shaking my head "Jack?"

" _I would have thought that you would've figured it out the last time we spoke,_ " he chuckled, eyes lighting up in amusement " _Then again. You were somewhat preoccupied with everything going on._ "

"Hm," I hummed with a small grin, placing my hand on the glass gently "Dying can take a lot out of you… Jack? How are you alive? I – The Doctor never told me what happened. He said you stayed behind but I could have sworn that I heard you being killed."

The Face of Boe moved his head as much as he could, looking at me " _I can't tell you that. I'm sorry, Valkyrie. This is something you'll find out in time._ "

"In time?" I repeated "Jack… What is that supposed to mean?"

" _I really can't tell you. Timelines and all that,_ " Jack told me " _So, how have you been since we last saw each other?_ "

I raised my eyebrow "Do you mean New Earth or the Game Station?"

" _Isn't that almost the same thing?_ "

"True," I shrugged "It's – I don't know. It's better now that Rose isn't here, I guess. She's been getting really bad and… Well…"

Jack chuckled " _Let me guess. The Doctor didn't notice a thing._ "

"He didn't," I agreed "I think he actually got more… oblivious now. But only concerning Rose and me."

" _So, has he confessed yet?_ "

I blinked "What?"

" _Nothing,_ " Jack shot back quickly and I'm sure that if he could have, he would have back-pedalled, his hands in the air " _You'll find out soon enough._ "

"That's not fair," I huffed, crossing my arms with a pout.

There was another chuckle in my head " _You're really cute when you pout, kiddo._ "

"Oh, shut up," I huffed "I still can't believe that you're… you've turned into a big head. Then again." I shrugged with a grin "I always did say that your ego is too big."

A loud thump sounded through the floor and I whirled around " _It seems as if the Doctor has arrived._ " I got up from before the tank and went to find him " _And Valkyrie? Not a word to the Doctor. Not about anything we talked about, alright?_ "

"Fine," I sighed, speeding over to where the Doctor was cursing.

Hame watched him uncomfortably "I only had the power for two trips. One for us and one for…" She looked up to see me standing there "Her."

The Doctor turned around "Ty… You're okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, allowing him to pull me into a hug "Hame? I wanted to ask… Where are we?"

"High above," the cat-nun-nurse replied "In the over-city."

The Doctor made a noise in the back of his throat "Good. Because you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word. They have thousands of people trapped on the motorway. Millions."

"We're in the Senate, aren't we?" I asked. Hame's expression had said everything and the Doctor would have most likely noticed, had he not been as mad as he was.

Hame nodded "Yes. May the goddess Santori bless them." She used her bracelet to turn on the lights. Skeletons. The whole senate was populated by skeletons "They died, Doctor. The city died."

The Time Lord swallowed heavily "How long's it been like this?"

"Twenty-four years."

"All of them?" the Doctor demanded "Everyone? What happened?"

The cat-nun-nurse nodded "A new chemical. A new mood." She leaned down and plucked a tab from one of the skeletons "They called it Bliss. Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished. Even the virus, in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost. They were saved."

"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic."

Hame sighed "There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."

"Speaking of 'we'," I said, grabbing the Doctor's hand with a grin "I think you're going to want to see this." I pulled him along and over to where the tank with Jack was standing.

" _Doctor,_ " the giant head greeted.

The Time Lord gasped "The Face of Boe."

" _I knew you would come,_ " the Face of Boe breathed, sounding a lot more tired than he had earlier.

Hame sat down next to the tank "Back in the old days, I was made his nurse as a penance for my sin."

"Old friend," the Doctor smiled, his hand resting on the glass "What happened to you?"

" _Failing,_ " Jack told us.

The cat-nun-nurse sniffed quietly "He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea…"

"So he saved them," the Doctor finished.

"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe," Hame explained "He's giving his life force just to keep things running."

I smiled lightly "I'm not surprised. You were always someone who wanted to save people. _Weren't you, Jackie?_ " I finished the end of the sentence in my head.

"I feel like I'm missing something," the Doctor mumbled, looking from the Face of Boe to me and back before he shook his head and got back on track "There are planets out there. You could have called for help."

Hame shook her head sadly "The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."

"So the two of you stayed here, on your own for all these years," the Doctor remarked, quietly impressed with both of them.

"We had no choice," Hame shrugged.

The Time Lord smiled "Yes, you did."

" _Save them, Doctor,_ " Jack implored " _Save them._ "

The Doctor got working, occasionally telling Hame or me to do something or fetch him another thing. Eventually, he got a computer working "Car four six five diamond six. It still registers," he exclaimed with a huge grin "That's Martha. I knew she was good. Novice Hame, hold that in place. Think, think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity grid."

"There isn't enough power," Hame pointed out.

"Oh, you've got power," the Time Lord shot back "You've got me. I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch. Hame, every switch on that bank up to maximum. I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people."

The cat-nun-nurse licked her lips "So what are you going to do?"

"This." The Doctor threw a big switch, causing all the lights to go out "No, no, no, no, no, no. The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through."

" _Doctor,_ " the Face of Boe rasped out.

I looked at him, kneeling down in front of the tank "Are you alright?"

" _Yes,_ " Jack nodded " _Doctor, I give you my last…_ " He breathed out and the power came back online.

" _Jack,_ " I called out inside my head.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder "Hame, help Ty to look after him. Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!" He worked some more, causing the roof hatches to open. He jumped onto a platform and grabbed the mic "Sorry, no Sally Calypso. She was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor and this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now." He paused and when no one moved, he continued "I opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you. The whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast. We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way." The Time Lord glanced at the monitor and took a deep breath "Oi! Car four six five diamond six. Martha! Drive up. You've got access above. Now go."

I looked back to Jack and leaned my head against the glass, trying to keep the tears from falling. He was as good as my brother and I really hated seeing him like this "Please don't die."

"You keep driving, Branigan," the Doctor exclaimed "All the way up. Because it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York and it's yours. And don't forget I want that coat back. Tyra forgot it."

"It's not my fault," I shouted from where I was still leaning "Not like I had a choice in being teleported."

The Time Lord snorted "Neither did I. I still wouldn't have forgotten my coat."

A chuckle sounded through my head " _You two get along better than you and Big Ears did. No, that's wrong… But you squabble more."_

"I like it," I shrugged.

" _He does too,_ " Jack explained.

The Doctor was still focussed on the screen "Car four six five diamond six, I've sent you a flight path. Come to the Senate." I heard Martha's voice in the background but it was too quiet to understand "It's been a while since I saw you, Martha Jones." I jumped back in shock when a crack started spreading across Boe's tank "Oh, no, you don't," the Doctor huffed, running over to us.

"Doctor? Tyra?" We heard Martha call out a little while later.

"Go and get her, will you?" the Doctor asked, staring at the giant head on the ground by the now broken tank.

I looked down at my best friend slash brother but nodded slowly "Over here," I murmured, waving Martha along.

"Doctor?" Martha breathed "What happened out there?" Her gaze fell on Jack, causing her to blink "What's that."

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder, while I knelt back down next to Jack "It's the Face of Boe. It's alright. Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a car. Don't worry." He smiled lightly "He's the one that saved you, not me."

"My lord gave his life to save the city," Hame whispered "And now he's dying."

"No," the Doctor snapped "Don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left."

I let out a shaky breath "Doctor… Please don't."

"Don't tell me you gave up as well," he hissed at me.

My hand was resting on Jack's cheek as he mentally warned me not to tell the Time Lord anything "You'll understand someday. Let him go?"

"What are you keeping from me, Ty?" he asked with narrowed eyes "Boe?"

Jack inhaled "It's good to breathe the air once more," he rasped.

"Who is he?" Martha questioned, kneeling down between me and the Doctor.

The Doctor shrugged "I don't even know but apparently Tyra does and won't tell me. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."

"Everything has its time," Boe said "You know that, old friend, better than most."

Hame looked up at the Time Lord "The legend says more."

"Don't," the Doctor shook his head "There's no need for that."

"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller and his warrior," Hame continued.

The Time Lord closed his eyes "Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"

I rubbed Boe's cheek gently "As much as I hate to keep you here… I don't want you to die."

"I have seen so much," he murmured "Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor."

"That's why we have to survive," the Doctor whispered "Both of us. Don't go."

Jack looked up at us "I must. But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone. And keep your warrior close. There will be hard times coming. Be there for each other." With that, he let out one last breath before his eyes closed.

I hid my face in my hands as Hame started weeping across from me. By the time we got back to Pharmacy Town, I was walking behind the other two quietly, my arms wrapped around my stomach. The Doctor looked around the closed shops with faked happiness "All closed down."

Martha smiled "Happy?" She had given up on talking to me about what the Face of Boe had meant a while back.

"Happy Happy," the Time Lord nodded "New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs. Cats in charge. Come on, time we were off."

"But what did he mean?" the medical student questioned "The Face of Boe? You're not alone."

The Doctor looked over at her "I don't know."

"You've got us," Martha said, pointing to herself and me "Is that what he meant?"

"I don't think so. Sorry."

Martha crossed her arms "Then what?"

"Doesn't matter," the Time Lord shrugged off "Back to the Tardis, off we go." He blinked for a moment "Alright, are you staying?"

I walked over to the Tardis and was about to enter when Martha spoke up. I glanced at her to see that the other girl had straightened up a chair and sat down, arms and legs crossed determinedly "Till you talk to me properly, yes. He said last of your kind. What does that mean? Why did Tyra stop me from asking about seeing your planet?"

"It really doesn't matter," the Doctor shrugged.

Martha groaned "You don't talk. I know more about Tyra than I know about you. You never say. Why not?"

" _Fast falls the eventide._ "

"It's the city," the medical student breathed, looking to the sky.

" _The darkness deepens…"_

Martha smiled and continued "They're singing."

" _Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail…"_

"I lied to you because I liked it," the Doctor sighed, grabbing a second chair. He waved me over and pulled me onto his lap "I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky. I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords." He squeezed my middle tightly, burying his face in my shoulder "The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else."

Martha's gaze turned sad "What happened?"

" _Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day."_

"There was a war," the Doctor whispered into my shoulder "A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost." He looked up with sorrow in his eyes "Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song."

_"The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide."_

A little while later, Martha went back to her room, while I was curled up on the upper landing of the console room, staring at the ceiling.

"What are you doing here? I thought you went to your room?" the Doctor murmured, sitting down next to me.

"Do you think he's in a better place?" I asked "Do you think there's something after you die?"

The Doctor wrapped his arm around my shoulders and rested his chin in my head "I don't know, Ty. The only thing we can do it hope. Do you really not want to tell me who he was? Because I know he told you something."

"I promised," I shrugged "But I'm sure you'll find out soon."

"Why can't you tell me now?" he pouted "That's unfair."

I grinned lightly "Sorry, Doc. I promised."


	20. Daleks in Manhattan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye Spain. I'm actually at the airport writing this AN. When you get this chapter, I'm hopefully home already but we'll see.
> 
> Update: Yes, I'm at home and about to go to bed. I hate travelling... No, I don't but something it feels that way.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter. AHHH! I'm so excited for the end of Series 3. Who else wants to see what the Master planned for Tyra?
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"Where are we?" Martha asked as soon as we stepped out of the Tardis.

The Doctor inhaled exaggeratedly "Ah, smell that Atlantic breeze. Nice and cold. Ty, do you know where we are?"

I glanced around before I blinked, leaning my head up to look at the Statue of Liberty "New York," I smiled, seeing my old home again. I think out of all the countries and cities I spent the most time in England and New York. But mostly because Niklaus seemed to favour England at the time and I was still staying with my siblings back then "Martha? Look up."

"Is that?" she gasped, blinking rapidly at the statue "Oh, my God. That's the Statue of Liberty."

"Gateway to the New World, right Ty?" the Doctor said "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free."

The medical student shook her head "That's so brilliant. I've always wanted to go to New York. I mean, the real New York, not the new, new, new, new, new one."

"Well, there's the genuine article," the Doctor mused "So good, they named it twice. Mind you, it was New Amsterdam originally. Harder to say twice. No wonder it didn't catch on." He grimaced lightly "New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam."

Martha squinted at the city across the sea "I wonder what year it is, because look, the Empire State Building's not even finished yet."

"Work in progress," the Doctor nodded "Still got a couple of floors to go and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around…"

"1930," I cut in "Just about, I think."

Martha hummed "November 1st, 1930."

"You're getting good at this," the Doctor said in surprise, turning to face us. He glanced down to see the newspaper in Martha's hand and rolled his eyes.

"Eighty years ago. It's funny because you see all those old newsreels all in black and white like it's so far away but here we are. It's real. It's new." The Time Lord grabbed the newspaper from Martha's hands, scanning the article on the front page, while the other girl turned to me "Where were you during the 1930s?"

I furrowed my brow "I… I was about to get on my way here, I think. Met up with some friends in New York in 1936 but now I should still be in Japan."

The Doctor put down the newspaper "I think our detour just got longer." He turned around the paper and pointed to the article.

"Hooverville Mystery Deepens," Martha read quietly "What's Hooverville?"

The Time Lord didn't answer, instead getting back into the Tardis to bring us closer to Central Park. He pulled us back out of the blue box immediately, staring on the track "Herbert Hoover, thirty-first President of the USA, came to power a year ago. Up till then, New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties and then…"

"The Wall Street Crash," Martha realized "When was that, 1929?"

I nodded, turning to face her "Lots of people lost their job and all of a sudden, the huddled masses doubled in number and they had nowhere to go. So they ended up here." I shrugged, waving my hands around "In the middle of Central Park."

"What, they actually live in the park?" the medical student wondered "In the middle of the city?"

"Where else should they have gone?" I asked her quietly, glancing at the raggedy tents and the people milling around fires "They lost their jobs and couldn't pay for anything anymore. It's typically human, Martha. No one wants to help them. They're just left here to starve."

The Doctor placed his hand on my shoulder "You only come to Hooverville when there's nowhere else to go."

"You thieving lowlife," a black man cried out, throwing himself at another man "… for a single loaf of bread."

The other man defended himself from the attack "I didn't touch it."

My mouth dropped open when I saw the person who left the tent with an older man in tow "What do you two think you're doing?" the woman demanded, glaring at the fighting men.

"He stole my bread," the black man hissed, jabbing his finger at the man he had been fighting with.

"That's enough," the older man sighed, turning to the supposed thief "Did you take it?"

The man's shoulder's sagged forward in defeat, pulling out the loaf of bread "I'm starving, Solomon."

"We're all starving," Solomon told him, taking the bread from him "We all got families somewhere." He broke the bread in half, giving both men a piece "No stealing and no fighting. You know the rules. Thirteen years ago I fought in the Great War. A lot of us did. And the only reason we got through was because we stuck together. No matter how bad things get, we still act like human beings. It's all we got." The two men nodded, giving each other slightly sheepish smiles before turning to walk off in different directions.

I looked at the very familiar woman who had apparently just noticed me "Well, I haven't seen you in a while," I told her with a grin.

"Tyra," the red-head smiled, holding out her arms to give me a hug "How are you?"

"Am I missing something?" the Doctor blinked "You know her, Tyra?"

I nodded with a grin, my arm still around the woman's waist "Doctor, this is my oldest brother's girlfriend Sage. Sage, this is the Doctor and Martha."

"Nice to meet you, Doctor," Sage smiled, shaking the Time Lord's hand.

The Doctor nodded at her before turning to Solomon who had been looking at Sage and me curiously "I suppose that you're the boss around here?"

"Hm," Solomon hummed "And you're the Doctor, no?" He snorted, shaking his head "We've got stockbrokers, lawyers but you're the first doctor. Neighbourhood gets classier by the day."

Martha looked around "How many people live here?"

"At any one time, hundreds," Solomon sighed "No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville. We are a truly equal society. Black, white, all the same. All starving but thanks to Miss Sage and Damon, we at least get food regularly. The two of them have been a huge help to all of us."

My head snapped to Sage "Damon's here too?" I asked before shaking my head "Right… I forgot the two of you were practically inseparable for a while."

"Don't you mean the three of us?" the red-haired vampire questioned "You're just as close to us even if you had to leave ten years ago."

Solomon cleared his throat, pulling the attention back to himself "The three of you are welcome here… But tell me, Doctor, you're a man of learning, right? Explain this to me. That there's going to be the tallest building in the world." He jabbed his finger at the Empire State Building "How come they can do that when we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?"

"Come on," Sage gestured "I'll show you around and we can talk while Solomon talks to your friends."

I looked at the Doctor "Is that okay?"

"Sure," the Time Lord shrugged "Go and talk to your friends… You know, I think this was why Damon was so alright with everything when we met last."

"Ah," I nodded "That… Makes sense."

Martha nudged me from the side "There's a first time for everything, right?"

"Hey," the Doctor huffed "Can you two stop teaming up on me?"

"You wish," I laughed "Come on, Sage. Let's go and find Damon."

The other woman grinned and waved me in one direction, while the Doctor, Solomon and Martha walked into another "So, how have you been since you left? You were in… Asia, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded "I went to Japan for a few years before coming back here."

"And where did you meet the Doctor?" she questioned curiously "The two of you seem… close."

I sighed at her words. Really? Her too? "Well, we are, I suppose. I met him around two years ago in England. Maybe a little more."

"I thought you were in Japan?" Sage frowned.

"Er…" I grimaced lightly "Yeah. I was… It's – complicated. I'll explain later, alright?"

Sage raised her eyebrow "I'll hold you to that, Tyra." She stopped, pulling me into one of the tents "Damon. Look who I found."

The raven-haired vampire looked up and before I could blink, his arms were wrapped around me "I didn't know you were back in New York, Ty-Ty."

"Stop calling me that, Day-Day," I rolled my eyes. We always reverted back to calling each other by those stupid nicknames sooner or later "And I didn't even know that I was coming back. It was a bit of a surprise. I didn't think the two of you would still be here."

Sage sat down on one of the beds "I was tired of chasing Klaus. And being around Damon and you… Honestly, I didn't have as much fun as this in centuries."

Damon tilted his head "I heard the two of you mention Klaus occasionally. Who is he?"

I exchanged a glance with Sage "You don't want to find out. Trust me on that," I murmured "If you never meet him it would probably be too soon." It wasn't that I haven't forgiven my brother yet but I knew how he could be and sadly, he was an ass to most people outside of the family… Hell, even some of our siblings not to mention our parents. Then again… Both Esther and Mikael deserved it.

"I actually have to agree with Tyra on that one," Sage murmured, grimacing at the thought of my older brother. Not that she had seen him much over the past nine centuries but it certainly wasn't for the lack of trying on her part. The few times she had caught up to him though were very… memorable from what I remembered and heard about it.

Damon blinked looking from me to Sage and back "If the two of you are agreeing to this then it has to mean something…"

"It's known to happen occasionally," I shook my head with a grin "I'm somewhat surprised you're here, you know." I leaned onto the younger vampire's shoulder "What with you helping the homeless and all."

"Are you joking?" Damon frowned, looking up at me "Please tell me that you didn't actually mean that."

I snorted "It's as if you don't know me at all," I rolled my eyes at him, sending him a genuine smile "I'm honestly happy that you're doing this. Both of you. This is something you can be proud of."

The Salvatore wrapped his arm around my waist, leaning his head onto my shoulder "I missed you with us, Tyra."

"I missed you guys too," I told him, burying my face in his hair.

Sage nudged me from behind "You haven't even told him about your friends yet."

Damon looked up, tilting his head "What friends? We're your friends," he pouted "You don't need any more friends."

"Damon, your jealousy is showing," Sage shook her head "But they are… curious to say the least."

"Well, let's meet them then," the youngest of us clapped, pulling at my arm impatiently.

I followed him, slowing down on purpose. In all honesty, I had almost forgotten how different Damon had been during the first fifty years of his life as a vampire. Not that I minded. Damon was Damon whether he was nice or being an ass… He was still my friend and I loved him for who he was "He's not going to run away, you know. No need to dislocate my arm, Damon."

"He?" Was his strangled reply "Your friend is a 'he'?"

Sage grinned patting my shoulder "I wasn't going to say anything," she laughed "That's all on you."

"I hate you, Sage," I hissed, groaning when Damon picked up his speed "Damon, can you please slow down? I swear…"

He didn't stop though, instead pulling me into another tent. As soon as we were a little closer, I could hear the Doctor's voice floating from it "But what does missing mean?" the Time Lord questioned as we entered "Men must come and go here all the time. It's not like anyone's keeping a register."

Solomon shook his head, nodding at Sage and Damon in greeting "This is different."

"In what way?" Martha raised her eyebrow, studying Damon from the corner of her eyes. I caught her gaze, tilting my head. The medical student shrugged sheepishly, turning back to the actual conversation.

"Someone takes them," the older man sighed, sitting down on a chair "At night. We hear something, someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone like they vanished into thin air…"

The Doctor hummed "And you're sure someone's taking them?"

Damon snorted "When you have nothing, you hold onto what little you have. Your knife, blanket, whatever… The people who were taken left everything. Even food sometimes, the fire still burning. They're just gone."

"You haven't seen anything either?" I asked him, looking from him to Sage.

The younger vampires shook their heads "No. Like Solomon said. They were already gone when we got there."

"So the question is, who's taking them and what for?" the Doctor summed up, running his hand through his hair "It's good to see you again, Damon."

Damon frowned "I have never met you before. Are you Tyra's friend?"

The Time Lord winced lightly and looked at me sheepishly. I sighed, rolling my eyes "Damon, that's the Doctor and the girl over there is Martha. Martha, I already introduced you to Sage earlier… Meet Damon."

"That still doesn't explain how he knows me already," Damon pointed out with a huff.

"That…"

"Solomon," a voice cut me off. A boy ran into the tent, panting a little "Solomon. Mister Diagoras is here."

I sighed "I'll explain it later, alright?"

The older man groaned but left the tent with us following. On a stone close to the entrance of Hooverville was a man with a small crowd gathered in front of him "I need men," Diagoras called out "Volunteers. I've got a little work for you and you sure look like you could use the money."

"Yeah," the boy who had gotten us scoffed "What's the money?"

"A dollar a day," the suit-clad man shrugged.

Solomon narrowed his eyes "What's the work?"

"A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel collapsed needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?" Diagoras questioned, looking into the crowd.

"A dollar a day?" Solomon clarified "That's slave wage. And men don't come back up, do they?"

Diagoras barely moved a muscle "Accidents happen," he murmured.

I grabbed Damon's arm when he made to move forward and shook my head as the Doctor stepped up "What do you mean? What sort of accidents?"

"You don't need work?" the man questioned in faked surprised "That's fine. Anybody else?" The Doctor raised his hand "Enough with the questions."

"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor smiled innocently "I'm volunteering. I'll go."

Martha raised her hand with a glare at the Time Lord as I followed suit as well "I'll kill you for this."

"Anybody else?" Diagoras asked, his eyes lit up with smugness. The boy from before and Solomon raised their hands along with Damon. Sage had decided to stay behind to look after the rest of the humans in the camp. The man nodded, waving at us to follow. At the entrance of the sewers, Diagoras stopped us "Turn left. Go about half a mile. Follow tunnel two seven three. Fall's right ahead of you, you can't miss it."

The boy – who had introduced himself as Frank earlier crossed his arms "And when do we get out dollar?"

"When you come back up."

"And if we don't come back up?" the Doctor demanded curiously.

Diagoras smiled self-assuredly "Then I got no one to pay."

Solomon shook his head "Don't worry, we'll be back."

"Let's hope so," Martha grumbled and made to follow the others.

The Doctor stared into Diagoras' eyes for a few more moments before turning to me "Come on, Ty."

"We just got to stick together," Frank nodded, eyes darting around the sewers uncomfortably "It's easy to get lost. It's like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here."

We started walking in the direction Diagoras had told us to go, Martha catching up to Frank "So what about you, Frank? You're not from around these parts, are you?"

Frank raised an eyebrow "Oh, you could talk." He shook his head "No, I'm from Tennessee born and bred."

"So how come you're here?" the other girl asked.

"Oh," the boy mumbled, looking at his feet "My daddy died. Mama couldn't afford to feed us all. So, I'm the oldest, up to me to feed myself. So I put on my coat, hitched up here on the railroads. There's a whole lot of runaways in the camp, younger than me, from all over. Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas… Solomon, Damon and Miss Sage keep a lookout for us. So, what about you and your friends? You're a long way from home."

Martha sighed "Yeah, I'm just a hitcher too."

I shook my head at her "You act like that's a bad thing, Martha," I told her "You can't say it isn't exciting."

"For you maybe," the medical student shot back "You have been travelling for years."

"Most of my life actually," I corrected, smiling at Frank "I was born in Virginia in the same place as Damon actually. Only my accent doesn't show it anymore."

Frank nodded "Is that how you know Damon and Miss Sage?"

"Sort of," I shrugged "I mean, I have known Sage for longer. She's my oldest brother's girlfriend… but I haven't seen her in too long."

The Doctor cleared his throat "So this Diagoras bloke, who is he then?"

"A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman," Solomon explained "Now, it seems like he's running most of Manhattan."

"How'd he manage that then?" the Time Lord blinked.

Solomon shook his head "These are strange times. A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It's just for some folks it works the other way around."

The Doctor opened his mouth, about to say something else, when he froze "Whoa," he breathed, his torch shining onto a luminous green jellyfish that was lying on the ground in front of us.

"Is it radioactive or something?" Martha frowned "It's gone off, whatever it is." The Doctor crouched down and picked it up "And you've got to pick it up."

I laughed "We're lucky if he doesn't lick it," I told her in amusement "He has a tendency to do that. No matter whose company he is in."

"You seem to know him pretty well," Damon remarked, not quite sure what to make of the situation. I believe he wanted to be jealous but even I knew that it had been a rare thing for me to laugh and smile like I was doing now. I met the two of them again just after I left my family, so it took me a while to get back to normal with everything I had going on.

"Yeah, well…"

The Doctor looked up at us "Shine your torch through it," he murmured, studying the jellyfish thing curiously "Composite organic matter. Martha? Medical opinion?"

The medical student shrugged "It's not human. I know that."

Damon let out a strangled sound, grabbing my arm tightly "They know?" he hissed, pulling me away from the group and a little further down the corridor.

"Actually… It's not our kind of non-human they're talking about," I told him.

"Then what?" the raven-haired vampire blinked in confusion.

I looked up at him seriously "Aliens."

"Aliens?" Damon practically shrieked and had we been in another situation, I would have probably made fun of him. Oh, who was I kidding? This would be the perfect blackmail to use against him whenever I saw him next. At least it did explain why he took everything rather well when the Doctor picked him up the last time "There are aliens?"

I raised my eyebrow "Says one vampire to the other."

"She's got a point," Martha pointed out, walking over to us. Then she jerked her head around "But so does he…"

"What?" I frowned.

The medical student hummed "Oh, the Doctor just said that we're around half a mile in already and there's no sign of a collapse. I thought girls were adept in multi-tasking. It seems as if that ability has gotten past you, Tyra."

"Oh, haha," I rolled my eyes "No my fault that Damon was shrieking around."

"I do not shriek," Damon grumbled, crossing his arms.

I shot him a look "Yes, yes, you do."

Before he could complain more, the other walked up to us "Come on, let's keep going for a bit more."

Another fifteen minutes later, Solomon shook his head "We're well beyond half a mile. There is no collapse, nothing."

"That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?" Martha asked.

"Looks like it," the Doctor nodded.

Frank tilted his head "So why'd he want people to come down here?"

"We're not alone," Damon breathed into my ear.

I closed my eyes for a moment "I was thinking the exact same thing…"

"Solomon," the Doctor gestured "I think it's time you took the others back. I'll be much quicker on my own."

Just as he said that the squeals became louder, echoing around us "What the hell was that?" Solomon demanded.

"Hello?" Frank called out.

Martha grabbed his arm "Shush."

"What if it's one of the folk gone missing?" the boy questioned "You'd be scared and half-mad down here on your own."

"I doubt they would sound a much like a pig as they do now," Damon pointed out, his eyes narrowed. By now, his mind was completely focussed on the situation at hand.

The Doctor turned around to face Frank "Do you think they're still alive?"

"Heck," Frank shrugged "We ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they just got lost."

"There doesn't have to be a body for them to be dead, Frank," I told him seriously as footsteps and squeals came closer and closer to where we were.

Solomon took a couple of steps back "I know I never heard nobody make a sound like that."

Frank glanced around "Where's it coming from? Sounds like there's more than one of them."

"This way," the Doctor gestured.

I coughed "Doc?" When he stopped to look at me, I pointed into the other direction. We had been standing by a crossroads with four ways going off and he was about to walk down the wrong one.

Solomon shone his torch down the corridor I had pointed to, the light of the torch catching a crouched figure in a corner "Who are you?" the older man called out.

"Are you lost?" Frank added, taking a step forward "Can you understand me? I've been thinking about folk lost down…"

The Doctor stopped him from getting any closer "It's alright, Frank. Just stay back. Let me have a look…" He kept his hand held out, stopping us from advancing "He's got a point, though, my mate Frank. I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own. We know the way out. Daylight. If you come with us…" He froze, staring at the figure "Oh, but what are you?"

Solomon gasped and even Damon flinched back a little "Is that – er – some kind of carnival mask?"

The Doctor shook his head with a sigh "No, it's real. I'm sorry… Now listen to me. I promise I can help. Who did this to you?"

The younger vampire grabbed a hold of my arm "There are more coming and quickly. What do we do?"

"Doctor?" Martha called out "I think you'd better get back here." The pigmen came into sighed "Doctor."

The Time Lord glanced up, his gaze on the pigmen "Actually, good point." He stumbled back towards us, the group of pigs following.

"They're following you," Martha pointed out.

"Yeah," the Doctor breathed, rolling his eyes "I noticed that, thanks. Well then, Ty, Martha, Frank, Solomon, Damon…" He whirled around "Eh… Basically, run."

The pigmen chased us back to the junction from before "Where are we going?" Martha called out.

"This way." The Time Lord whipped his head around, spying the ladder down a side passage "It's a ladder. Come on!" He used his sonic screwdriver to open the cover at the top.

Damon and Frank stayed behind to ward off the pigmen as Martha and I climbed up the ladder "Damon?" I called out from the top of the ladder.

"Frank," Solomon shouted after me "Frank. Come on, Frank."

The younger vampire was about to make sure that Frank got up onto the ladder but the younger man shook his head, shoving Damon towards the ladder "Go," he said "You have been taking care of us for a while. Time that I repay that favour."

Damon quickly climbed the ladder with Frank right behind him. One of the pigmen grabbed Frank's leg, starting to pull him down. The Doctor reached past Damon, trying to grab Frank's hand "I've got you," he murmured "Come on…" I stepped forward quickly, pulling Damon the rest of the way up, while simultaneously reaching for Frank. I was too late though because just before my hand touched his, he was pulled down.

"Frank," Solomon cried out.

The Doctor stared down in horror "No."

"I'm sorry," Damon breathed, staring down into the hole for a moment before Solomon slammed it shut "I should have done something… I could have done something."

Solomon grasped his shoulder as I wrapped my arms around my friend's middle "It's not your fault, Damon. We can't go after him."

The Doctor shook his head "We've got to go back down. We can't just leave him."

"No," Solomon hissed sharply "I'm not losing anybody else. Those creatures were from Hell. From Hell itself. If we go after them, they'll take us all. There is nothing we can do. I'm sorry."

All of a sudden a young woman stepped out of the shadows, pointing a revolver at us. I blinked in surprise… Either she had been abnormally quiet or I just was too focussed on Damon to hear her "Alright then," she started "Put them up. Hands in the air and no funny business. Now tell me, you schmucks, what have you done with Laszlo?"

Martha frowned at her "Who's Laszlo?"

The young woman sighed, lowering the gun a little, still keeping it pointed in our direction, though "Laszlo's my boyfriend," she explained quietly "Or was my boyfriend until he disappeared two weeks ago. No letter, no goodbye, no nothing. And I'm not stupid. I know some guys are just pigs but not my Laszlo. I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?"

"Yeah," the Doctor mumbled, eyeing the gun warily "It might… might just help if you put that down."

The woman frowned "Huh? Oh, sure." She glanced down at her hands and chucked the revolver onto the table without any care. She rolled her eyes as most of our group jumped "Oh, come on. It's not real. It's just a prop. It was either that or a spear."

I grinned lightly "Damn… You should have chosen the spear," I told her "That would have been awesome."

"It really would have been," Damon agreed, his arm wrapped around my shoulders now.

Martha looked at the blonde woman "What do you think happened to Laszlo?"

"I wish I knew," she mumbled "One minute he's there, the next, zip… Vanished."

"Listen," the Doctor started "Er… What's your name?"

"Tallulah," she introduced herself.

The Time Lord nodded "Tallulah…"

"Three Ls and an H," Tallulah added.

"Right," the Doctor blinked "We can try to find Laszlo but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night."

"And there are creatures," Solomon added "Such creatures."

Tallulah tilted her head "What do you mean, creatures?"

"Look," the Doctor sighed "Listen, just trust me. Everyone is in danger. I need to find out what this is." With those words, he pulled out the jellyfish thing from his coat pocket "Because then I'll know exactly what we're fighting."

"Yuck," Tallulah breathed.

I stared at the Doctor in slight disgust "Are you kidding me? You had that in your coat pocket?" I shook my head "Okay, it's official. I'm never touching that thing ever again… Unless you get that cleaned."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved off, his mind already on solving the mystery of the weird jellyfish.

I hummed to myself "That would make a good book title," I mumbled.

"What would make a good book title?" Damon questioned from behind me.

I jumped, whirling around "Really? Was that really necessary?" I huffed as he started laughing "As for your question… 'Mystery of the weird jellyfish' would make a good book title, don't you think?"

"That actually sounds pretty good," the younger vampire nodded "Any chance you'll write it?"

"Me?" I snorted, rolling my eyes "Right… Of course."

Damon tugged at my hand and practically shoved me down on one of the chairs in the theatre "Start talking."

"What?" I frowned.

"You said you would tell me about aliens," the Salvatore pointed out "Start talking. Now. What were those things down in the sewers? Were they aliens?"

I sighed, leaning my head back against the back of the seat "Right that… I don't know what those things were… I really don't," I told him "But I don't think they're alien. Or at least not naturally."

"Not naturally?" Damon frowned "Ty, what the hell is going on?"

"Look, this is a bit… different," I told him "The Doctor…"

Damon cut me off "Yeah, about that. I counted heartbeats and there was one too many every time."

"He has two heart," I murmured "And yes. He's an alien."

"What… Tyra? How did you meet him?"

I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees and buried my hands in my hair "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Damon."

"Try me. I think I'll believe almost everything right now," he huffed, throwing himself down on the chair next to me.

"Alright then," I sighed "I met the Doctor in 2005. Like… way in the future and we travelled back from 2007 to get here."

Damon froze, opening and closing his mouth a few times "W… Wait. What?"

"Time travel," I explained "I know this is unbelievable – More than that but… I don't know. I'm not lying."

"I – I'm not sure if that makes me as mad as you but I actually believe you," Damon snorted "You have never lied to me, Tyra and I doubt you'd start now."

I relaxed my shoulders "Honestly? I wasn't sure how you'd take it. It is more than a little unbelievable after all."

"True," the younger vampire nodded "But then again… What happened earlier wasn't exactly believable either."

I grinned "It doesn't even rank on the scale of weird that I've seen in the last two years."

"Speaking of last two years," Damon tilted his head "If you're from 2007, then where's your other self?"

"Japan," I answered "I'm probably about to decide to come back and meet up with you and Sage. When that happens, don't tell me about this."

The younger vampire saluted jokingly "Alright then. So, any cool aliens or other things you can tell me about?"

I hummed "Well, I met Shakespeare and witches which was pretty cool… Queen Victoria and a werewolf… Hm, what else can I tell you about? Dickens and ghosts at Christmas. Quite a few things in the future. Other planets and things like that."

"Wait, werewolves? That sounds pretty cool," Damon remarked "I really hope to see them sometime since there are none."

I shot him a knowing look "Maybe sometime."

"Ha," the Doctor exclaimed from somewhere to our right.

I raised my eyebrow at Damon and shrugged "Wanna see what he's up to now?"

"Sure," Damon hummed, getting up.

"That's it," the Time Lord mumbled, aiming a spotlight at the jellyfish thing "We need to heat you up…"

I glanced over his shoulder and wrinkled my nose "That looks really gross."

"Shush," he muttered, examining the thing that is strapped into whatever device he built from the scrap. Around half an hour later, the theatre started filling up with people and the lights dimmed as they got ready to see the show Tallulah was the star of. The Doctor looked up from the jellyfish and over his shoulder at Damon and me. We had started to play a rather complicated game that consisted of hand gestures. I had learned it a while ago and taught Damon "This is artificial."

" _Ladies and gentlemen… The Laurenzi dancing devils with Heaven and Hell,_ " a man's voice announced as the curtains were drawn back, revealing the dancers on stage.

"What does that mean?" Damon asked, leaning forward curiously.

The Doctor mumbled something to himself that I didn't understand before he spoke up "Genetically engineered. Whoever this is… oh, you are clever." He pulled out a stethoscope, listening to the jellyfish "Fundamental DNA type four six seven dash nine eight nine." The Time Lord stared into space "Nine eight nine… Hold on, that means planet of origin… Skaro."

"Skaro?" I breathed "How? Wait, Skaro was the planet the Daleks came from, right?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, his eyes dark "Oh, this is bad. Why can't they just die already?"

Damon looked from me to the Time Lord and back "What are you two talking about?"

"Martha," the Doctor exclaimed, running off to find the other girl.

I gazed after him for a moment before following "Daleks are… nothing you ever want to meet," I explained to the younger vampire while jogging after the Doctor "They might look ridiculous but being shot by them hurts like hell. It's not deadly to vampires but it hurts."

"Where is she?" the Doctor demanded, looking at the dancers "Where's Martha?"

Tallulah shrugged "I don't know," she shook her head "She ran off the stage."

I frowned, listening to something coming from the direction of the Props room we were in earlier "Doctor, I think she's over there." I pointed down the corridor just as a scream sounded.

"Martha," the Doctor exclaimed, sprinting off just behind me.

There was nothing in the room, not even the lid looked displaced or anything. The Doctor grabbed his coat, pulling it on "Where are you going?" Tallulah huffed.

"They've taken her," the Time Lord explained without explaining.

"Who's taken her?" Tallulah muttered "What're you doing?"

I turned around to face Damon "Damon, can you go back to Hooverville and tell Sage everything? Help her protect the people."

"Are you sure?" he whispered in concern.

"I'm a big kid," I smiled "I can protect myself and them. Those people back there can't." The Doctor gestured for me to climb down before him. I jumped down the last few rungs, making sure the air is clear before calling up to him quietly.

From where I was standing in the sewers, I heard Tallulah's huff "I said, what the hell are you doing, crazy guy?"

"No, no, no, no, no way," the Doctor shook his head harshly when the showgirl climbed down after us "You're not coming."

"Tell me what's going on," the young woman demanded.

The Time Lord clenched his eyes shut for a moment "There's nothing you can do. Go back."

"Look," Tallulah sighed "Whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Laszlo, couldn't they?"

I looked down the corridors, listening for any noise "It's not safe down here," I told the young woman "Please, just go back."

"That's my problem," Tallulah told me, walking down the tunnel "Come on. Which way?"

The Doctor and I exchanged a look before I shrugged, causing him to sigh "This way." Tallulah came back, walking along the corridor next to me.

The coat-clad woman glanced over at me and the Doctor curiously "When you say, they've taken her, who's they exactly? And who are you anyway? I never asked."

I hushed her sharply when I heard something "Doctor… I don't want to panic you or anything but… This doesn't sound good."

The Doctor tilted his head, listening intently. He paled lightly "No…"

"What's wrong?" Tallulah asked, not lowering her voice at all.

"Shush, shush, shush, shush." The Doctor pulled her closer to the sewer wall, grabbing my hand with his other. From my place directly by the corner, I could see the shadow of a Dalek cast on the wall ahead of us.

Tallulah raised her eyebrow at us "I mean, the two of you are handsome and all…"

The Doctor pressed his hand over her mouth and dragged both of us back into a service alcove. Tallulah's eyes widened as the Dalek whirred past "No, no, no, no," he mumbled under his breath. I squeezed his hand tightly "They survived. They always survive while I lose everything."

"You won't lose me," I told him quietly "I'll make sure of that."

He glared lightly "How can you be so sure, huh? They might not be able to kill you but…"

"But nothing," I cut him off and glanced at Tallulah "Come on, let's find out what they're planning this time."

"That metal thing?" the showgirl breathed, staring down the corridor the Dalek had disappeared down "What was that?"

The Doctor swallowed heavily "It's called a Dalek. And it's not just metal, it's alive."

"You're kidding me," Tallulah blinked, laughing nervously.

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" the Time Lord stared at her seriously, his eyes a lot darker than they normally were "Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek too. It won't stop until it's killed every human being alive."

Tallulah swallowed heavily "But if it's not a human being, that kind of implies it's from outer space." When neither the Doctor nor I laughed, she sighed "Yet again, that's a no with the kidding. Boy… Well, what's it doing in New York?"

The Doctor shook his head at her "Every second you're down here, you're in danger. Tyra… Will you take her back to the theatre?"

"What about you?" I asked worriedly "I'm not leaving you to run into this on your own."

"Just do as I say and stay with her," he snapped, his mind already on what the Daleks could be planning.

I flinched back a little in surprise "You don't get to talk to me like that, Doctor."

The Time Lord closed his eyes for a moment, grasping my shoulders tightly "I don't want you in the middle of this, Ty. Please… Just go and be safe."

"No," I told him firmly "I let you go on your own on New Earth. I held back from mentioning it but I'm sick of it. You don't have to protect me. Like I told Damon… I can protect myself."

At that moment, a pigman rounded the corner, causing Tallulah to let out a shrill scream. The young woman jumped back, hiding behind me "Where's Martha?" the Doctor demanded "What have you done with her? What have you done with Martha?"

"I didn't take her," the pigman shook his head.

"Can you remember your name?" the Doctor frowned, noticing something different about this one.

The pigman turned its head away from us "Don't look at me."

Tallulah peaked around me "Do you know where she is?" she piped up.

"Stay back," the pigman hissed when the Doctor walked closer "Don't look at me."

"What happened to you?" the Time Lord questioned, looking at the man with sorrow.

The pigman grimaced "They made me a monster."

"Who did?"

"The Masters," the pigman mumbled.

The Doctor nodded "The Daleks. Why?"

"They needed slaves," the man pointed out, still pressing himself back into the shadows "They needed slaves to steal more people so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind but it was still too late."

I looked at him, my head tilted, listening to his heart stuttering occasionally "Martha. You know what happened to her, don't you?"

"They took her," the pigman explained "It's my fault. She was following me."

Tallulah gasped "Were you in the theatre?"

"I never," the man denied quickly before letting out a sigh "Yes."

"Why?" the showgirl frowned, carefully stepping closer to the shadow "Why were you there?"

The pigman sighed "I never wanted you to see me like this."

"Why me?" Tallulah puzzled "What I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"

I heard a deep inhale before the pigman turned around "Yes."

"Who are you?" Tallulah questioned, squinting at the features she could make out.

"I was lonely," the man admitted "I'm sorry."

Tallulah's breathing hitched "No, wait," she stopped him "Let me look at you. Laszlo? My Laszlo? Oh, what have they done to you?"

"I'm sorry," Laszlo choked "So sorry."

The Doctor who had watched the incident silently "Laszlo, can you show me where they are?"

"They'll kill you," the pigman pointed out.

The Time Lord shook his head "If I don't stop them, they'll kill everyone."

Laszlo looked at him for a moment before he nodded "Then follow me."

Even before Laszlo slowed down, I could hear Martha's whisper a little further in "I don't know. I've got a nasty feeling we're being kept in the larder."

"What are they doing?" Frank whispered as soon as we stopped. I leaned around the Doctor to peak at the line of scared humans who were being guarded by some pigmen who were beginning to shift nervously "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"Silence," the Dalek demanded "Silence." Laszlo whimpered quietly, pressing himself against the wall next to us.

Martha gasped quietly "What the hell is that?"

"You will form a line," the Dalek waved around its whisk "Move. Move."

"Just do what it says," the medical student told to frightened humans "Everyone, okay? Just obey."

The Dalek apparently agreed "The female is wise. Obey." He was quiet for a moment before continuing "These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause."

Martha frowned "Dalek?"

"What is the status of the Final Experiment?" the Dalek asked an unseen third party "… Then I will extract prisoners for selection." One of the pigmen dragged an older man forward "Intelligence scan, initiate…. Reading brain waves. Low intelligence."

The man huffed "You calling me stupid?"

"Silence," the Dalek hissed, pulling its plunger back "This one will become a pig slave. Next."

"No," the man cried out "Let go of me. I'm not becoming one of them. No! No." As the man was dragged away, the Dalek continued scanning the other people.

Laszlo turned to us "They're divided into two groups. High intelligence and low intelligence. The low intelligence are taken to become pig slaves like me."

"Well, that's not fair," Tallulah cried out.

"Shush," the Doctor hushed her immediately.

Tallulah grimaced apologetically "You're the smartest guy I ever dated."

The Time Lord tilted his head "What about the others?"

"They're taken to the laboratory," Laszlo explained.

"Why?" the Doctor asked "What for?"

The pigman shrugged "I don't know. The Masters only call it Final Experiment."

By then, the Dalek had reached Frank and Martha "Superior intelligence." It turned to Martha "Intelligence scan, initiate. Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment."

"You can't just experiment on people," Martha cried out "It's insane. It's inhuman."

"We are not human," the Dalek pointed out "Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory."

The Doctor grabbed my arm "Look out, they're moving."

Laszlo started to lead Tallulah away "Doctor. Doctor, quickly."

"We're not coming. I have an idea… You two go," he murmured.

Tallulah tugged on her boyfriend's arm "Laszlo, come on."

Laszlo sighed "Can you remember the way?"

"Yeah," the blonde nodded "I think so."

"Then go," the pigman pushed her lightly "Please."

"But Laszlo, you got to come with me."

Laszlo smiled sadly "Where would I go? Tallulah, I'm begging you. Save yourself. Just run. Just go. Go." With a lingering glance, Tallulah left, leaving Laszlo, the Doctor and me to sneak into the line of humans who were being lead away.

"Just keep walking," the Doctor murmured to Martha when we reached her.

The other girl breathed a sigh of relief "Oh, I'm so glad to see you two."

"Yeah, well," the Time Lord shrugged "You can kiss me later…" He glanced to me out of the corner of his eyes "Or… Maybe not."

As soon as we reached the Dalek laboratory, the Dalek that lead us, turned to another one "Report."

"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution," the other Dalek pointed out. I squinted at them and tried to remember their names since I was sure they were the ones from Canary Wharf but honestly… I couldn't remember.

"Scan him," one of them demanded "Prepare for birth."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow "Evolution?"

Martha nodded to the Black Dalek "What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?"

"Ask them," the Doctor told her.

"What, me?" the medical student hissed, her eyes widening "Why not Tyra? Or you?"

The Time Lord leaned down "I don't exactly want to get noticed and they know Tyra as well. Ask them what's going on." He turned to me "Keep your head down, alright?"

I just nodded, watching him duck out of sight as Martha stepped forward shakily "Daleks, I demand to be told. What is this Final Experiment? Report."

"You will bear witness," one of the bronze Daleks told her.

"To what?"

"This is the dawn of a new age," the Dalek exclaimed.

Martha caught my eye and I shrugged, just as confused as her "What does that mean?"

"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again," the same Dalek pointed out. By then Sec's shell had stopped smoking and the light in its eyestalk went out. The casing opened and a biped struggled out. As the casing was closing, the creature straightened up, its hands over his head.

Martha reached out to grab my hand "What is it?"

"I wish I knew," I breathed, staring at what should have been Dalek Sec.

The creature had one eye and tentacles like a Dalek blob but it was wearing a suit… Diagoras' suit if I wasn't mistaken "I am a human Dalek," Sec gasped, breathing deeply "I am your future."


	21. Evolution of the Daleks

"These humans will become like me. Prepare them for hybridisation," Sec demanded.

I stared at the… thing with an open mouth, completely forgetting to keep my head down. What in the world did Sec do? I was still looking in the Daleks' direction when the pigmen grabbed a hold of all of us. Martha started fighting "Leave me alone," she hissed "Don't you dare." Her head snapped over to me "T…"

The medical student was cut off by music playing "What is that sound?" Sec demanded, looking around in confusion.

"Ah, well," the Doctor popped up from behind a desk "Now, that would be me." He placed the radio down by a Bunsen burner, walking up to Sec with me in tow "Hello. Surprise. Boo. Et cetera."

The Hybrid thing narrowed his eyes "Doctor," he greeted before his gaze travelled to me "And your Companion. What was her name again?"

"How did you end up in 1930?" the Time Lord questioned, taking a small step in front of me when the other Daleks started to point their whisks at us.

"Emergency temporal shift," Dalek Sec replied.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows "Oh, that must have roasted up your power cells, huh?" He shook his head in mock disappointment "Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world but instead, you're sulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting. All of which results in you."

"Doctor?" I spoke up quietly, my voice still echoing around the silent room "Maybe it's not the best idea to taunt Daleks. You tried that before and it didn't turn out too well."

Sec's eyes were once again on me "I am a Dalek in human form."

"What does it feel like?" the Time Lord squinted "You can talk to me, Dalek Sec. It is Dalek Sec, isn't it? That's your name? You've got a name and a mind of your own. Tell me what you're thinking right now."

I stepped back a little, closer to Martha. When it came to it, I would still be able to get the Doctor out of the way fast enough. The other girl grabbed my arm "What is going on?" she hissed as Dalek Sec started spouting off what he though 'humanity' meant.

"I… I don't know," I mumbled, my eyes trailing from one Dalek to the next "They were at Canary Wharf."

Martha gasped "So that's what they meant about escaping slaughter?" I nodded quietly.

"What is the purpose of that device?" one of the Daleks demanded as the Doctor picked up the radio again.

"Well, exactly," the Doctor rolled his eyes "It plays music. What's the point of that? Oh, with music, you can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it." He whirled around "Unless you're a Dalek of course. Then it's all just noise." The aimed his sonic at the radio, causing it to emit a shrill shriek. I gasped, clutching my hands over my ears, barely noticing Dalek Sec and the pigmen reacting in a similar way. The Doctor wrapped his arm around my waist, steadying me "Run," he whispered.

The prisoners escaped as quickly as they could. After one last look back, the Doctor ushered me out of the lab. Now that the noise was gone, I breathed a silent sigh of relief, hitting the Time Lord's chest in annoyance "Do you know how annoying that is when you do things like that?"

"It's not my fault that your ears are too sensitive," the Time Lord grumbled "Plus, it was the only thing I could think of."

"Yeah, right," I snorted, shaking my head.

When the humans in front of us stopped at an intersection, the Doctor barrelled past them "Come on. Move, move, move." He lead us to where Tallulah was standing around, looking completely lost "And you, Tallulah. Run."

"What's happened to Laszlo?" she demanded, craning her neck to check whether she could see him anywhere.

I grabbed her hand "He's fine. Helping us. I promise you, Tallulah."

The Doctor gestured to a ladder "Come on. Everyone up. Come on, hurry."

We came out close to Hooverville, near where we had gone down originally, so our group made the short trek back to where Solomon was already waiting with Sage and Damon. Martha and Tallulah sat down on some crates that were around a fire, while I sank down on the crate next to the one Martha was on with Damon and Sage leaning on either side of me. My eyes were glued to the Doctor and Solomon talking a few feet away "These Daleks," the older man started, sounding out the word "They sound like the stuff of nightmares. And they want to breed?"

"They're splicing themselves onto human bodies," the Time Lord nodded "And if I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville. You've got to get everyone out."

Solomon scoffed "Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall. There's nowhere else to go."

"I'm sorry, Solomon," the Doctor sighed "You've got to scatter. Go anywhere. Down to the railroads, travel across state. Just get out of New York."

"There's got to be a way to reason with these things," the older man argued.

I snorted "Good luck with that."

"There's not a chance," Martha agreed.

"You ain't seen them, boss," Frank added, looking a little worse for the wear.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "Daleks are bad enough at any time but right now they're vulnerable. That makes them more dangerous than ever."

I jumped at the shrill sound of a whistle "They're coming," one of the watchers yelled "They're coming."

Solomon straightened in alarm "A sentry. He must have seen something."

Said sentry came running towards us "They're here. I've seen them. Monsters. They're monsters."

"It's started," the Doctor murmured grimly.

Solomon turned around "We're under attack. Everyone to arms." Rifles were handed out and as everyone got into position, I exchanged a look with Sage and Damon, nodding at them. We situated ourselves in front of the humans, ready to defend them if necessary. Just after we had gotten back from the sewers, I had a quick talk with my friends, making sure they were up to date. It had been easier than expected since Damon had filled Sage in on everything I told him in the theatre.

"I'm ready, boss, but all of you…" Frank looked around at some of the people who were standing around unsurely "Find a weapon. Use anything."

"Come back," Solomon shouted when a few of the men ran off "We've got to stick together. It's not safe out there. Come back."

That's when the pigmen started attacking, grabbing everyone they could get their hands on "We need to get out of the park," Martha exclaimed.

"We can't," the Doctor murmured grimly "They're on all sides. They're driving people back towards us."

Tallulah exhaled shakily "We're trapped."

"Then we stand together," Solomon pointed out in determination "Gather around. Everyone come to me. You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together." The armed men formed a circle around the women by the campfire with me, Damon and Sage just behind them "They can't take all of us."

"If we can just hold them off till daylight," Martha shook her head as the shooting started.

The Doctor glanced over at her "Oh, Martha, they're just the foot soldiers."

"Damon," I called out when I saw one of the Daleks flying towards us. I gestured for him to head back towards the group around the Doctor.

"Oh, my God," Martha breathed, her eyes wide.

Solomon blinked "What in this world is…?"

"It's the devil," the sentry from earlier cried out "A devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation."

"Oh yeah?" Frank pressed out through gritted teeth "We'll see about that." He started shooting at the Dalek, not even stopping when the bullets bounced off with a useless clang.

The Doctor grabbed his arm as I joined Damon, Sage still in place. The pigmen had stopped attacking for now "That's not going to work," the Time Lord whispered.

"There's more than one of them," the medical student pointed out as a second Dalek swooped in. Both pepper pots started firing, blowing up the tents with whoever was hiding in there.

"The humans will surrender," one of the Daleks ordered.

"Leave them alone," the Doctor called out, stepping forward. I made a noise in the back of my throat. Did he have a death wish? "They've done nothing to you." Solomon stepped forward, causing the Doctor's head to snap to him "No, Solomon. Stay back."

The older man swallowed "I'm told that I'm addressing the Daleks. Is that right?" He took a deep breath "From what I hear, you're outcasts too."

"Solomon, don't."

"Doctor," the man sighed "This is my township. You will respect my authority. Just let me try." He turned back to the flying pepper pots "Daleks, ain't we all the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?" Solomon put down his rifle "Right. See, I've just discovered this past day, God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh yeah, terrifies me right down to the bone. But surely it's got to give me hope. Hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So, I beg you know, if you have any compassion in your hearts, then you'll meet with us and stop this fight. Well?" He stared at them "What do you say?"

The Dalek mustered the man for a short moment before its whisk twitched "Exterminate."

Before I could move, Damon had already tackled Solomon out of the way, taking the burst of energy into the back. The younger vampire cried out in pain and slumped to the ground, dead "Damon," Sage and I gasped at the same time. I slid to my knees next to my dead friend, glaring up at the Daleks. He would be alright but I knew how much it hurt to die by Dalek death ray…

"They killed him," Martha breathed "They just shot him on the spot."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes, catching my eyes for a moment "Daleks. Alright, so it's my turn then. Kill me. Kill me if it'll stop you attacking these people."

I jumped forward, jerking him back by the arm "What the hell are you doing?" He just stared at me. The look in his eyes made me back off. I knew that look all too well. I might have hated it but I knew how he was feeling about the Daleks and the only thing I could do was to stop him from actually getting himself killed, so I let him go but was ready to jump in nevertheless.

"I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy," the Dalek exclaimed gleefully.

"Then do it," the Doctor shouted, holding out his arms "Do it. Just do it. Do it."

The Dalek pointed the gun at the Doctor "Exterminate." It was about to shoot when it stopped "I do not understand. It is the Doctor…" Another quick pause that made me frown. What were they doing? "The urge to kill is too strong…" The Dalek shot in the air before seemingly deflating "I obey."

"What's going on?" the Doctor frowned in confusion.

"You will follow," the Dalek commanded, looking down at the Doctor.

Martha surged forward "No. You can't go. Tell him, Tyra."

"I've got to," the Time Lord murmured, looking from the medical student to me "The Daleks just changed their minds. Daleks never change their minds. Tyra… I know that you're not happy about this but you know that I have to go."

I closed my eyes, clenching my teeth in displeasure "At least let me come with you."

"I need you up here…"

"What?" Martha huffed "To die?"

The Doctor looked over his shoulder "One condition. If I come with you, you spare the lives of everyone here. Do you hear me?"

"Humans will be spared. Doctor, follow." The Dalek turned around, making to leave.

"Are you sure that I shouldn't come with you?" I questioned.

The Time Lord placed his hand on my shoulder, the other one disappearing into his pocket "Stay here with Martha. You two can help the people here. Oh, and cam I just say… Thank you. For everything." He slipped the wallet with his psychic paper into my hand before following the Dalek.

I blinked in confusion at his words. This wasn't right… Was it? "What was that?"

"Something's wrong," Martha nodded, glancing down at my hands "What's that?"

"Psychic paper," I murmured, showing it to her "But why… I –" A groan came from behind me. Damon let out another groan, squinting his eyes open "Are you alright?" I questioned, once again kneeling down next to him.

The younger vampire huffed "Do I look alright to you?"

"Don't be a baby," I smiled lightly, helping him up "You're alive, aren't you?"

"Have you ever died by…?"

I looked him in the eyes "Dalek? Yes. It's not a fun experience as I'm sure you're aware."

"Tyra?" Martha asked as she walked over, the psychic paper still in her hand "Do you know what he wanted you to do with this?"

Tallulah frowned "What's that?"

"It gets you into places," the medical student pointed out "Buildings and things. But… where? He must have wanted us to go somewhere, right?"

I hummed before straightening "Empire State Building," I exclaimed.

Martha's eyes widened "I remember… The Daleks mentioned an energy conductor."

"What does that mean?" Sage frowned in confusion. She looked a little frustrated with the situation since it wasn't often that she didn't know what was going on and from what I remembered she got annoyed quickly.

Martha sighed "I don't know. Maybe like a lightening conductor or… Dalekanium." Her head snapped around to me "They said the Dalekanium was in place."

"Let's go," I murmured.

She tilted her head "Go where?"

"I told you Empire State Building. It's the highest point… and it's still being built. What better place to hide something like this?" I pointed out.

"Frank," Martha called out, seeing the young man talking to Solomon quietly. The older man was still pretty shaken up by almost dying.

Frank headed over to us "Is everything alright?"

"Mister Diagoras…" I started before pointing to the Empire State Building behind us "Did he have anything to do with building this?"

"Yes," he nodded "Why?"

"We should go then," Martha murmured, her voice holding a hint of excitement. On the way there, the medical student couldn't help babbling about how excited she was to be going to the Empire State Building "I always wanted to go to the Empire State." She looked around the service lift we were standing in "Never imagined it quite like this, though."

Frank looked up "Where are we headed anyway?"

"The top," I murmured, poking Damon questioningly. The whole way here the younger vampire had been a little hunched while walking but his soreness seemed to have disappeared enough for him to straighten again. Sage had once again stayed at the camp, opting to help Solomon with the injured people "We're looking for something that has to be pretty much at the top."

Tallulah hummed, jabbing her finger downwards "How come those guys just let us through?" She reached out for the wallet in my hands "How's that thing work."

"It's called psychic paper," Martha explained "Shows them whatever we want them to think. According to this, we're… Really, Tyra?"

I looked at her innocently "Why not? It worked, didn't it?"

"You spent too much time with the Doctor," the other girl groaned, shaking her head in exasperation.

"What's it say?" Tallulah questioned, trying to peak over Martha's shoulder.

The medical student snapped the wallet close, handing it back "Nothing. It's… nothing."

"That's unfair," the blonde singer huffed.

Damon tilted his head "What did it say?" he asked lowly.

I grinned mischievously "Not telling."

"Oh, come on, Ty…"

"Nope," I sang, prancing out of the elevator when the doors opened. I couldn't stop the small sigh from escaping my lips when I felt the breeze sweep through my hair, coming from the open area on the other side of the room.

"Look at this place," Tallulah marvelled "Top of the world."

I smiled "I heard that before."

"Hey, Tyra, look at this," Martha spoke up, gesturing for me to come over to a drawing board. There were blueprints on it "That looks good."

"Look at the date," Frank pointed out "These designs were issued today. They must've changed something last minute."

Martha tilted her head "You mean the Daleks changed something?"

"Could be," Frank shrugged.

Damon leaned on my shoulder "But why would they change something today? What made them…" He broke off in confusion.

"I have no idea," I shrugged "I mean, maybe they were trying to move things along faster? If they have been behind the construction the whole time then I'm not surprised it was going this fast… I always wondered…"

"The ones underneath… They're from before," the medical student noticed, shifting the sheet to the side a little "That means whatever they changed must be on this top sheet but not on this one. We need to check one against the other."

Tallulah meanwhile was walking in the direction of the open area "The height of this place. This is amazing."

"Careful," Martha warned when she saw what the showgirl was doing "We're a hundred floors up. Don't go wandering off."

"I just want to see," the blonde whispered, going to the opening, looking out towards the Chrysler building "New York City. If aliens had to come to Earth, oh, no wonder they came here."

Damon wandered over to her "According to Ty, aliens prefer London."

"Really?" the showgirl questioned. I glanced over my shoulder, watching Tallulah and Damon with a small grin. The younger vampire had really been so different back in his first century of life… It was almost sad how much he changed because of Katherine and his younger brother. I was just glad that I was allowed to see the real Damon, the person he had been all those years ago instead of the person he portrayed to everyone else "But look at this place."

Damon hummed "It really is beautiful. Nothing I have seen before in any case."

"Your accent is different," Tallulah pointed out "Where are you from? How do you know Tyra? And that other lady. The three of you are friends?"

"I'm from a small town in Virginia. That's also where I met Tyra," the vampire murmured, catching my gaze with a small smile "Sage found me and Tyra a few years ago here in New York. Ty and she already knew each other."

Tallulah tilted her head "They did?"

I walked over to them "Sage is the girlfriend of my oldest brother. I hadn't seen her in a while before she ran into Damon downtown." My gaze moved away from them and I started staring into the distance. A storm was coming and I had a feeling that this would either turn out bad or… really bad.

"Let's go back in," the showgirl spoke up after a few more minutes "I don't like the look of those clouds."

By now, Martha and Frank had spread out the blueprints on the floor. Frank looked up when we rejoined them "I'll go and keep an eye out. Make sure we're safe up here. Don't want nobody butting in."

"I'll come with you," Damon spoke up, hurrying after Frank.

"There's a hell of a storm moving in," Tallulah pointed out as she knelt down next to the medical student.

Martha sighed "I wish the Doctor was here. He'd know what we're looking for."

I blinked slowly "We know what we're looking for. We just have to find it."

"What?"

"Dalekanium?" I questioned "Remember?" With that I looked down at the blueprints "This is the newest, right?"

Martha nodded "Yeah."

"Okay," I hummed, studying them carefully.

Tallulah looked at Martha curiously "So tell me, where did you meet the Doctor? And are you two hooking up?"

I stiffened lightly, not enough for them to notice as Martha let out a breath "It was in a hospital… Sort of. And no, we're not hooking up. I think he has a thing for Tyra. Or at least she has a thing for him."

"What?" I gaped in shock "What are you talking about?"

"Ty, I've seen the way you look at him," the medical student pointed out "He looks at you the same way."

I shook my head "There's nothing going on, alright? We're friends. That's it."

"Is that really all you want?"

I was silent for a moment before I turned away from her "I found it," I spoke up, changing the subject "Here." I tapped the blueprints "These lines here – on the mast – they're new."

"But why?" Tallulah tilted her head.

I raised my eyebrow, causing Martha and the showgirl to exchanged a look of realization "Dalekanium."

" _Ty,_ " I heard Damon's voice from where he and Frank were standing " _The elevator is on its way up._ "

" _How would she hear you?_ " Frank frowned " _Isn't she all the way back there._ "

I turned to Martha "Elevator is on its way up."

Just as I had finished the words, the doors of the lift opened, revealing the Doctor and Laszlo "Doctor," Martha exclaimed in relief.

"First floor, perfumery," the Time Lord joked.

Tallulah had run at Laszlo, throwing her arms around his neck "I never thought I'd see you again."

"No stopping me," the pigman smiled a little painfully, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend.

"We've worked it out," Martha explained, dragging the Doctor over to the blueprints "We know what they've done. Look, here." She traced the lines on the mast "There's Dalekanium on the mast. And it's good to see you, by the way."

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a grin "Oh, come here." He swept Martha off her feet before turning to me. His arms wrapped around me, practically swallowing me in a hug "I knew you'd figure it out," he whispered, leaning his forehead against the top of my head as the elevator doors shut "No, no, no," the Time Lord groaned, releasing me hurriedly "See, never waste time with a hug. Deadlock seal. I can't stop it."

"Where's it going?" the medical student asked, throwing me a pointed look.

"Right down to the Daleks," the Doctor grumbled, tugging at his hair "And they're not going to leave us alone up here. What's the time?"

Frank looked down at his watch "Er… Eleven fifteen."

"Six minutes to go," the Time Lord mused "I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits."

"Gammon radiation?" the showgirl blinked "What the heck is that?"

I followed the Doctor to the open area "He means lightning."

"Well, why doesn't he just say that then?"

"Oh, that's high," the Time Lord grimaced, looking down "That's very… Blimey, that's high."

"Since when are you afraid of heights?" I questioned in confusion as he jerked back a little "You didn't have a problem hanging over the edge of the Sycorax ship."

The Doctor crossed his arms "I'm not afraid of heights… I just have respect."

"Right," I nodded, sounding unconvinced.

Martha groaned "Are you two done? We've got to go even higher. That's the mast up there, look." She pointed upwards "There's three pieces of Dalekanium on the base. We've got to get them off."

"That's not we," the Time Lord shook his head, blocking the way up a wooden ladder "That's just me."

"Again?" I demanded.

He shot me a looked "Don't argue with me now. Please. They need you – both of you down here. You have to fight." I gritted my teeth and whirled around, stalking off to where Damon was standing. If the Doctor kept acting as he did, I would do something I'd regret. Seriously, I could take care of myself and didn't need to be wrapped up and patted on the head whenever something dangerous was happening.

Damon raised his eyebrow "You alright?"

"Yes," I hissed, taking a couple of calming breaths.

"You know, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you changed a lot. Actually, you have changed a lot," the younger vampire murmured "I take it that it's because of him?"

I couldn't stop the glance I threw over my shoulder, catching the Doctor's eyes before he turned, climbing up the ladder "Yeah. I – He's never judged me for what I am, Damon… Sure, he might disapprove but that's different. I…"

"She was right, wasn't she?" Damon questioned, nodding to Martha who was just walking back towards us.

"No," I muttered, avoiding his eyes.

The Salvatore snorted "Liar. I can see it in your face. Why are you so against it?"

"Have you seen me?" I huffed "I just don't understand why he would like me… I don't even really know what I'm feeling. What if it's not…?"

Damon wrapped his arms around my waist for a moment "Why don't you talk to him about it? You know what I think?" He waited for a moment, tilting my chin up "I think that he is a lucky man to have your attention. You're amazing, Ty. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Both you and Sage have helped me so much already and I can never repay either of you."

"You don't have to," I protested "It's not your fault after all."

"I know," he sighed "But this is not about me."

Martha raised her eyebrow at me "Tell me again that he isn't head over heels for you," the medical student grumbled "He's way more protective over you than anyone else."

"The elevator's coming up," I remarked, shifting away from Damon.

Frank swallowed "I should have brought that gun."

Laszlo pulled Tallulah behind him "Tallulah, stay back. You too, Martha, Tyra. If they send pig slaves, they're trained to kill."

"The Doctor needs me to fight," Martha pointed out, not moving away "I'm not going anywhere."

I turned to her "We've got this, Martha. Damon and I can take care of them without a problem."

"But…"

"No buts," I smiled "Please?"

The medical student sighed "Alright."

"They're savages," Laszlo protested when I stepped up between him and Damon "I should know. They're trained to slit your throat with their bare teeth."

I waved him off "I had worse than a slit throat."

"Laszlo?" the showgirl cried out when the pigman collapsed to the ground, panting "What is it?"

He shrugged her off "No, it's nothing. I'm fine. Just leave me."

"Oh, honey," Tallulah sighed, brushing his hair back "You're burning up. What's wrong with you? Tell me."

Frank glanced back "Great. One man down, we ain't even started yet. Now there's only two of us."

I shot him a slightly annoyed look "What am I? Chopped liver?"

"She's a better fighter than me," Damon pointed out "If you don't want to fight then go ahead. Ty and I can manage."

"Maybe you don't have to," Martha spoke up, glancing out into the open area where lightning was lighting up the walls.

"You want to electrocute them," I realized "Well, saves me from having to get my hands dirty."

"I n ever heard you complain about that," the younger vampire teased "I'm not sure I'm liking this new you."

I hit them back of his head "Idiot."

"Are you like this with everyone?" Martha demanded, her eyes showing her amusement "Because I could use your help if you're done."

"Sorry, Martha," I grinned sheepishly, taking apart the metal scaffolding while Martha and Frank got the chairs ready. I threw several of the metal bars to Damon, positioning the first few against the base of the mast.

Tallulah was still running her hands through her boyfriend's hair "Aw, you'll be alright, sweetheart," she cooed "Don't you worry." She looked up in annoyance when she was almost hit by one of the chairs "What are you clowns doing?"

"Even if the Doctor stops the Dalekanium, this place is still going to get hit," the medical student pointed out.

I held up one of the bars "Electricity all the way down. If we connect these to the lift, the pigmen will get zapped. Not very nice way to go but… Oh well."

Frank looked over at me "The way you talk one would think that you died like a hundred times already."

"You saw Damon die," I pointed out, helping the young man to connect the pipes to the scaffolding outside "And he's obviously still here. Trust me, I've died… a lot. In quite a few different ways. None of them are advisable although some aren't as bad until you wake up."

Tallulah looked at the line of metal nervously "Is that going to work?"

"It should," the medical student shrugged "If not I'm sure Tyra wouldn't mind getting her hands dirty."

"My pleasure," I called over my shoulder.

Frank blinked "How did you hear that? The only thing I hear is the storm."

"Maybe I'll tell you, maybe Damon will but not now," I murmured, tugging a lock of wet hair behind my ear.

Martha looked at Frank and me, waving us over "Just sit here and try not to touch anything metal."

"Yeah," Frank nodded, plopping down next to the other girl.

I knelt down slightly in front of them, keeping my eyes on the elevator. Floor 90… Floor 100… I jumped when I heard a loud scream from outside but before I could move, the electricity flowed down the conductor, along the scaffolding poles and straight to the pigmen in the elevator "Doctor," I whispered, jumping over the still sparking pipes to run outside.

"What happened?" Martha called after me when she noticed where I was going.

It was Damon who replied since I was already halfway up the mast. Further up, I could see the still figure of the Time Lord lying uncomfortably close to the edge "Doctor," I murmured, pulling him away from the edge and onto my lap. His hearts were still beating but that didn't make him any less unconscious.

"Doctor," Martha gasped, seeing him lying on my lap. She had the sonic clenched in her hands "Look what we found halfway down. You're getting careless." The medical student laughed lightly and leaned forward when the Time Lord gasped awake.

The Doctor raised his hand and groaned "Oh my head."

"Hiya," Martha smiled.

"Hi," he murmured back "You survived, then." His head tilted back, rubbing against my stomach a little "Are you okay?"

I nodded before tapping him on the forehead "We're talking about this later."

Martha cleared her throat over the sound of the still roaring storm "I can't help noticing… There's Dalekanium still attached."

We all looked up before startling into action, quickly climbing back down the mast to where the others were waiting. The Doctor started pacing "The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewers, spreading the soldiers out underneath Manhattan."

"How do we stop them?" Laszlo asked, getting up slowly. He was leaning on Tallulah heavily but he looked a little better.

The Time Lord ran a hand through his dripping hair, making it stand up in every direction "There's only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping through me first."

I tilted my head, my eyes a little wider than normal "Does that mean that they're part Time Lord and part Dalek?"

"We need to draw fire," the Doctor explained after a quick nod "Before they can attack New York. I need to face them. Where can I draw them out? Think, think, think."

"What about the theatre?" Damon asked.

The Doctor's head snapped around "That's it. Tallulah."

"That's me," the blonde raised her hand "Three Ls and an H."

"The theatre… It's right above them and – what – it's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?" the Time Lord questioned.

Tallulah shrugged "Don't see why not."

"Is there another lift?" the Doctor asked, looking at the normal elevator with the dead pigmen still scattered around.

"We came up in the service elevator," Martha pointed out.

The Time Lord grinned "That'll do. Allons-y."

The journey to the theatre passed in silence. I was trying to ignore the Doctor, slightly annoyed at him for getting hurt. This must be how he was feeling whenever I got hurt… The only difference was that I could heal from just about everything. Him… Not so much.

Tallulah opened the door to the theatre with a key that she had gotten from somewhere. I didn't ask and didn't really care too much either. It was pretty cool inside which immediately caused the showgirl to shiver. The Doctor stopped in the middle of the theatre "This should do it. Here we go."

"There ain't nothing more creepy than a theatre in the dark," the showgirl shuddered "Listen, Doctor, I know you got a thing for show tunes but there's a time and place, huh?" Her attention was drawn from the Time Lord to her boyfriend when the pigman fell into one of the seats heavily "Laszlo, what's wrong?"

The man shook his head "Nothing. It's just so hot."

"But it's freezing in here," Tallulah whispered in concern "Doctor, what's happening to him?"

"Not now, Tallulah," the Doctor waved off "Sorry."

Martha raised her eyebrow at the Doctor who had climbed onto a row of seats "What are you doing?"

"If the Daleks are going to war, they'll want to find their number one enemy," the Time Lord pointed out matter-of-factly "I'm just telling them where I am." He held up his screwdriver as it continued beeping "You need to leave. Now!"

Martha shook her head "No."

"I'm not leaving either," I added, crossing. my arms challengingly.

After a minute, he turned towards us with a sigh "I'm telling you to go. Frank can take you all back to Hooverville."

"And I'm telling you I'm not going," Martha crossed her arms.

I nodded in agreement "You should know by now that I'm not leaving you. I've humoured you for the past few adventures but I'm not letting you go and get yourself killed."

The Doctor tensed "That's an order."

"Who are you, then?" the medical student challenged "Some sort of Dalek?"

I looked from her to the Time Lord and back "Martha," I warned quietly, shaking my head at her "I know you're mad but don't ever say that again."

We whirled around when the doors exploded inwards and people marched in from both sides, surrounding us. Tallulah let out a squeak "Doctor. Oh, my God. Well, I guess that's them then, huh?"

"Humans with Dalek DNA?" Martha murmured.

The Doctor held out his arms, hands up "It's alright, it's alright. Just stay calm. Don't antagonize them."

"But what of the Dalek Masters?" Laszlo spoke up carefully, watching the Dalek humans warily "Where are they?"

Just as he said that there was an explosion on stage and two of the three remaining Daleks appeared with Sec on a chain, crawling on his hands and knees "You just had to ask, didn't you?" I sighed, stepping next to the Doctor.

"The Doctor will stand before the Daleks," the Dalek on the left ordered, its eyestalk looking from one person to the other before coming to rest on me "And the Companion too." The Doctor walked over the top of the seats easily as I followed him quietly. His hand was clenched on my arm. I wasn't sure whether he was trying to comfort me or himself "You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age."

The Dalek on the right moved forward "Planet Earth will become New Skaro."

"Oh, and what a world," the Time Lord spat "With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt." He nodded to the former Dalek on the ground "That's Dalek Sec. Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you've done to him. Is that your new Empire, hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?"

I tugged on his hand "Do you think it's a good idea to antagonize Daleks? Normally I'm all for it but we're slightly outnumbered at the moment."

"My Daleks," Sec rasped "Just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you."

The left Dalek turned "Incorrect. We will always survive."

"Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor," the other Dalek announced.

"But he can help you," Sec pointed out.

The left Dalek's whisk twitched "The Doctor must die."

"No," Sec gasped "I beg you, don't."

"Exterminate." I slipped in front of the Doctor, hoping to protect him from dying but I didn't count on Sec standing up just as the Dalek fired.

"Your own leader," the Doctor grimaced in disgust, wrapping his arm around my waist. He didn't try to push me behind him again. Maybe for once he actually got what I was trying to do "The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him. Do you see what they did?" He turned to the Dalek humans "Huh? You see what a Dalek really is?" The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and past me "If I'm going to die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek humans. Their first blood. Go on, baptise them."

I let out a breath "You better know what you're doing," I mumbled.

"Where would be the fun in that?" he shot back, steeling himself. Either he was going to die in a moment or his plan had worked. After all, the Dalek humans should have some of his DNA inside them as well.

"Dalek humans," the left Dalek called out "Take aim." They turned their guns on the Doctor.

The Time Lord clenched his jaw "What are you waiting for?" he goaded "Give the command."

"Exterminate." Both the Doctor and I stiffened, waiting for something to happen but nothing did.

"Exterminate," the second Dalek cried out.

The left Dalek moved forward "Obey. Dalek humans will obey."

Martha glanced at them "They're not firing. What have you done?"

"You will obey," the Dalek cried out "Exterminate."

"Why?" the first Dalek human questioned.

The second Dalek reared back "Daleks do not question orders."

"But why?"

"You will stop this."

The Dalek human tilted his head "But why?"

"You must not question."

"But you are not out Master," the man pointed out "And we – we are not Daleks."

The Doctor relaxed with a small smile stealing its way across his face "No, you're not. And you'll never be." He smirked at the Daleks on the stage "Sorry, I got in the way of the lightening strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom."

"If they will not obey, then they must die," the Dalek on the left huffed. He shot the man who had questioned orders.

"Get down," the Doctor called out, dragging me down between the seats.

The Dalek humans turned on the two aliens on stage, firing at them as the Daleks fired at the humans "Exterminate. Exterminate. Extermin…" One after the other the Daleks exploded and the Dalek humans stopped shooting.

"It's alright," the Doctor soothed, looking at the still people "It's alright. You did it. You're free." All of a sudden, the mutants started clutching at their hands, dropping to the ground, dead "No. They can't. They can't. They can't."

"What happened?" the medical student demanded "What was that?"

The Doctor straightened up, his face set "They killed them, rather than let them live. An entire species. Genocide."

Laszlo straightened with a low groan, nodding at Damon when the younger vampire came forward to steady him "Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed. One of the Dalek Masters must still be alive."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor smirked darkly "In the whole universe, just one." He turned to look at me "How about we go and see for ourselves?"

I inclined my head "I'd be happy to."

We took the way through the props room down to the sewers, making it to the Dalek laboratory in barely anytime. The others and I stayed back, while the Doctor walked closer to the Dalek strapped into the cables "Now what?" the Time Lord demanded.

"You will be exterminated," the Dalek said.

The Doctor snorted, waving him off "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just think about it, Dalek… What was your name?"

"Dalek Caan."

"Dalek Caan," the Doctor repeated "Your entire species has been wiped out. And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated, leaving only you. Right now you're facing the only man in the universe who might show you some compassion. Because I've just seen one genocide. I won't cause another. Caan, let me help you. What do you say?"

The Dalek was silent for a moment "Emergency temporal shift," it cried out, disappearing.

"No, no, no," the Doctor chanted, moving towards the cables. I sped in front of him, catching him. He was still muttering under his breath as he closed his eyes tightly.

"Doctor," Martha called out panicked "Doctor. He's sick." I looked over to see Damon and Frank holding onto a wheezing Laszlo, helping him to sit down on the ground "It's okay," Martha whispered soothingly "You're alright. It's his heart. It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it."

Tallulah took Laszlo's hand in hers "What is it, Doctor? What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe? What is it?"

"It's time, sweetheart," Laszlo gasped.

"What do you mean, time?" the showgirl demanded "What are you talking about?"

The pigman looked up, still wheezing "None of the slaves survive for long. Most of them only live for a few weeks. I was lucky. I held on because I had you. But now, I'm dying, Tallulah."

"No," Tallulah shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes "You're not. Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do something?"

The Doctor smiled at the showgirl, crouching down in front of Laszlo "Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H, just you watch me. What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory?" He grinned lightly "Oh look, I've got one. Laszlo, just you hold on. There's been too many deaths today." The Time Lord started working with coloured liquids, causing the rest of us to look at each other in slight confusion "Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age-old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death. You got that? Not one. Tallulah, out of the way. The Doctor is in."

After another few hours, we were back in Hooverville, standing with Solomon and Sage "Well, we talked to them," Frank pointed out, looking at Laszlo with a smile "They might not have been happy but you have a home here, Laszlo."

"People are going to stare," Solomon added "We can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that's what Hooverville stands for."

Sage placed a hand on the pigman's shoulder "If anyone gives you trouble, come to me or Damon. We'll take care of it."

Laszlo smiled at them gratefully "Thank you. I can't thank you enough."

"Ty," Sage spoke up, looking at me "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I patted Laszlo's shoulder and followed my two vampire friends to the side, far enough away that the others wouldn't be able to hear "What's up?"

"I just need to know…" Sage broke off, taking a deep breath "In your time… What about Finn?"

I lowered my head "I don't know," I whispered, an apology in my tone "If he gets undaggered, I will let you know, alright? I promise. Just make sure that Damon will have a way to contact you."

"Contact me how?" the redhead frowned, her eyes showing what she didn't want to say.

I drew her into a hug "You'll know when the time comes. I'm sorry, Sage. I wish that I could tell you something else."

"It's not your fault," she muttered.

"And just to get this straight," Damon spoke up "We can't tell you about any of this?"

I shook my head "Just like I can't tell you anything about your future," I explained "For the me you know, this is still a century in the future."

"This is annoyingly complicated," the Salvatore grumbled.

"Try getting timelines straight when you travel all over," I snorted "I haven't seen one of my brothers in a century and yet I have seen him recently."

Sage raised her eyebrow "Who?"

"Kol," I told her "There was Shakespeare… and witches."

The red-haired vampire's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline "No way."

"Yes way," I nodded.

"Tyra," the Doctor called out from behind us "Separate yourself and come. We should go."

I rolled my eyes "Well, you heard him. I'll see you two."

"Bye, Ty," Damon murmured, pulling me into a tight hug "And take care of yourself, will you?"

I saluted him playfully before pressing a small kiss to both his and Sage's cheeks "Make sure you stay out of trouble, alright?" With that, I turned to job back to where the Doctor and Martha were waiting for me.

On the way back to the Tardis, Martha stopped "Do you think it's going to work, those two?"

The Doctor shook his head with a shrug "I don't know. Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them but New York? That's what the city's good at. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses and maybe the odd pig slave Dalek mutant hybrid too."

I snorted at that. Well, he wasn't wrong. New York was good at new starts, no matter what or who you were "They have good people taking care of them," I spoke up "I'm sure that for the time Damon and Sage are in New York, they'll look after the two."

"Hm," the Time Lord nodded "With anyone else, I might worry too but Damon is good at… stuff."

"Stuff," I repeated.

Martha suddenly burst out laughing. When we turned to her, she held up her hands "I just… The pig and the showgirl."

"The pig and the showgirl," the Doctor laughed.

"It just proves it, I suppose," Martha sighed "There's someone for everyone."

The Doctor glanced down at me for a moment before turning away "Maybe."

"Meant to say, I'm sorry," the medical student mumbled.

"What for?" the Time Lord tilted his head in confusion.

Martha shrugged "Just because that Dalek got away and for what I said. I should have known better. Do you think you'll ever see it again?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor nodded "One day."

"Most likely sooner rather than later," I added "Daleks are like cockroaches. Just when you thought you got rid of them, they come back."

The Doctor groaned "Don't I know it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me longer than expected but now that I'm through these two Episodes, hopefully it'll be easier again. Only five more chapters till Jack and the Master! Sorry, I feel like I'm way more excited about this than you are... Still. AHHHH!
> 
> Also... I kept typing Sex instead of Sec which is slightly awkward. I hope I corrected it everywhere. If not I'm really, really sorry xD
> 
> Nick


	22. Lazarus Experiment

"There we go," the Doctor nodded in satisfaction "Perfect landing. Which isn't easy in such a tight spot."

Martha raised her eyebrow in amusement "You should be used to tight spots by now. Where are we?"

"The end of the line," the Time Lord replied, making my head snap up. He was taking her home? Why? "No place like it." The medical student grinned before practically running outside.

"You took her home," I murmured, stopping the Doctor from walking past me "Why?"

The Doctor tilted his head "I promised her one trip. She got three."

"Are you really sure that you want to leave her at home?" I asked, narrowing my eyes "Because from what I've seen you like having her around as much as I do. And I kind of like having her around."

"Come on," the Time Lord sighed, lightly pushing me towards the door.

Martha was staring at her apartment in sadness "Home. You took me home?"

The Doctor nodded "In fact, the morning after we left, so you've only been gone about twelve hours. No time at all, really."

"But all the stuff we've done… Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?"

"Yep," the Doctor grinned "All in one night, relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was. Books, CDs, laundry." He picked up a piece of underwear with a smirk on his face. Martha gaped at him for a moment before snatching it away "So, back where you were, as promised."

The medical student bit her lip "This is it?" She glanced at me "Ty?"

I raised my shoulder in a shrug "Sorry, Martha. I really like having you around but in the end… It's his decision."

"I'm gonna miss you," the other girl mumbled into my shoulder, pulling me into a hug "You'll keep in contact?"

"I'll definitely…" I was cut off by Martha's phone ringing.

" _Hi, I'm out,_ " Martha's voice said on the answering machine " _Leave a message._ "

The medical student grimaced but made no move to answer the phone "I'm sorry."

" _Martha, are you there?_ " an older woman asked " _Pick it up, will you?_ "

"It's Mum," Martha sighed, waving off "It'll wait."

A huff sounded from the answering machine " _Alright then, pretend that you're out if you like._ "

I snorted in amusement "Well, she knows you."

" _I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things._ " Was it me or did she sound exasperated? " _On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested._ "

Martha gasped, diving for the remote of her TV. An old man appeared on the screen with a younger woman standing behind him " _The details are top secret,_ " the man said, looking right at the camera.

"How could Tish end up on the news?" the medical student blinked in confusion.

" _Tonight, I will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world,_ " the man continued with a smug smile " _With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human._ " I shook my head at the screen, knowing that we would probably go and check it out whether it meant to take Martha along or not. In fact… Maybe this was my chance to get the Doctor to change his mind. I had no idea why he was so adamant to leave her at home anyway. They had gotten along, hadn't they?

Martha turned to us "She's got a new job," she said, gesturing to her sister "PR for some research lab…" She shook her head "Sorry. You were saying we should…?"

The Doctor's attention snapped back to Martha when she turned off the TV "Yes, yes, we should. One trip is what we said."

"It's what you said," I muttered, rolling my eyes behind his back.

The medical student nodded, obviously crushed by what was happening. I couldn't blame her. Travelling with the Doctor was amazing and I genuinely liked Martha… She was smart and didn't take crap from the Time Lord "Yeah. I suppose things just kind of escalated."

"Mm," the Doctor grinned lightly "Seems to happen to me a lot."

"Thank you," Martha murmured, looking up at the man "For everything."

The Time Lord inclined his head "It was my pleasure." He turned around to walk back into the Tardis, leaving me with Martha for a moment.

I moved forward again, wrapping my arms around her for a second time "Don't worry too much," I breathed into her ear "I think we'll be back sooner than you think. But in case I'm wrong… Good luck."

"Thank you, Ty," the other girl murmured "Really. I know that I was a bit… You know, at the beginning."

I laughed "Don't worry about it. I mean it. There is nothing going on and…" I shook my head "Anyway. I should go."

"Bye… Take care of him." She paused for a short moment "He's going to need it."

"Too true," I grinned, making my way into the Tardis. As soon as I had the door closed behind me, the Doctor took off "So," I spoke up "What now?"

The Time Lord didn't seem to hear me, though. Instead, he was staring at the console blankly "… what it means to be human…" he mumbled to himself. I smirked, knowing that I had been right. My hand shot out to hold on to one of the corals near me when the Tardis gave a violent jerk. The Doctor landed against, rushing past me out of the door "No, I'm sorry," I heard "Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?"

"Told you so," I murmured to Martha, falling down on her couch "So, what does that mean?"

The Doctor hummed, glancing at Martha "Can you get us into that event?"

"I wasn't planning on going," the medical student sighed, sitting down next to me "But I guess I could. Although… Having a Plus Two isn't the norm, is it?"

"For him, it is," I grinned.

"Yeah, yeah," the Time Lord rolled his eyes "So, what do you say?"

Martha tapped her chin mock thoughtfully "Another adventure with you? Hm… I don't know." A grin stole its way across her face "Yes. I… I don't have a dress though."

I grabbed onto her wrist "Tardis. Come on." I then froze "Wait… Have I never showed you the wardrobe?"

"Nope," the other girl shook her head "You didn't."

"Huh," I mumbled, shaking my head before glancing over my shoulder "Please tell me that you're changing too. The jumper doesn't count this time."

The Doctor crossed his arms "That was one time."

"One is one time too many," I pointed out, dragging Martha through the Tardis with me "The wardrobe is awesome. Trust me, you'll love it."

"Isn't it a bit too early to get ready? I mean, it's morning… The party isn't until tonight," Martha sighed.

I stopped in front of the door to the wardrobe "You might just need the time to find something to wear." I stepped forward, pushing the door open with a small flourish.

"Holy… This – is the wardrobe?" Martha asked, her mouth open in shock as her eyes darted around the huge room.

"Yup," I nodded happily "I normally only come in here for dresses. The rest of the stuff, the Tardis transferred to my closet in my room. Dresses… Not so much."

The other girl raised her eyebrow "Not the dress type?"

"I don't mind them but if I can, I'll wear something else," I shrugged "The last time I wore a dress, we ended up in 1941. We ran into one of my older brothers who called me a whore because of how short the dress was for the time." That thought alone caused me to pout "Nik should know… I never wear period-appropriate clothes. Loved to wear pants before it became normal. Then again, I think my brothers just thought I was trying to be difficult."

Martha hummed "How many brothers do you have again? I mean, I know Kol but…?"

"Four," I told her "Kol is the youngest older brother I have."

"Is he the next in age after you?"

I shook my head "No. It's me, Rebekah, Kol, Niklaus, Elijah and Finn."

"So… You and your sister have four older – more than likely over-protective – brothers?" Martha winced "I pity you."

"Thanks," I shook my head in amusement "You heard my argument with Kol. They never really let me live my life the way I wanted to. Rebekah was more of a rebel, I guess. But after seeing her… lovers die every time, I never really tried."

The other girl stopped riffling through the rack of clothes "Is that why you deny that you like the Doctor?"

"I don't," I shot back quickly. A little too quickly.

"Yeah, right," Martha snorted "Look, it's not bad to admit your feelings… And if I'm completely honest with you, he is so in love with you as well."

I looked at my hands "How do you know?"

"Is he or is he not trying to protect you all the time?"

"Yes but what…" I broke off "Look, I – I'm scared. I don't want to lose him over this. It's easier to stay friends than to be together and completely mess up."

Martha placed her hand on my shoulder "What makes you so sure?"

"What?" I blinked.

"What makes you so sure that you'll mess up?" she asked "You're practically together already anyway."

I scoffed "Yeah, right."

"Ty, you're arguing like an old married couple," the medical student pointed out "And you know him better than anyone else. I think that speaks for itself."

"Does it?" I asked before sighing, running my hand through my hair "Look, even if he likes me too… I – I can't, not yet. Maybe sometime but I feel like I'm not ready for something like this."

Martha pulled me into a quick hug "That's all that you needed to admit, Ty. Don't deny what you're feeling. You might not be ready but that doesn't change your feelings, right?" I shook my head "See? Anyway, what do you think you'll wear?"

I shrugged "No idea. I don't necessarily want to dress nice but then again. Can't embarrass you, can I?"

"Damn right, you can't." The medical student wagged her finger in my face jokingly "Come on, let's find something to wear."

It did take us a while to find the right thing to wear but it was totally worth it. While we had been searching, I told her about a few of our older adventures, about Mickey and about having Damon along. Especially about having Damon along for a little bit. Since she had met him during our last adventure, Martha was interested in how he was. I told her as much as I felt comfortable with but kept most of the private stuff exactly that. Private. It was Damon's story to tell.

"Ooh," I murmured, looking at the outfit that had practically appeared in front of me. I looked up at the Tardis "Either you want to get rid of me or you want to help. I can't decide which one it is, though." The Tardis hummed in amusement, making a pair of black under-knee boots appear underneath the outfit. I huffed and grinned "Okay, I don't really care anymore. This is actually pretty nice. Thanks." I grabbed the outfit from the hanger and the shoes before making my way to one of the screens that were in the bottom part of the wardrobe. Martha was already there, trying on several different dresses.

She looked over, showing me the red dress that she was wearing "What do you think?"

"Eh," I grimaced lightly "It's a bit too… out there for you, I guess."

Martha hummed, looking back at her reflection "I think you're right. Have you found anything?"

"Yup," I nodded, pulling off my shirt. After a thousand years, I wasn't shy about changing in front of people anymore. There was nothing bad about being confident after all. I quickly changed into the outfit the Tardis had chosen. It was a short, sequinned golden skirt with black see-through tights and a black top that was uneven at the bottom.

"Woah," Martha breathed, looking over "That… How did you find that?"

I studied myself in the mirror with a critical expression "The Tardis gave it to me." I slipped on the shoes before turning to look at my hair "I like the outfit. But I don't know about my hair." I glanced to the side, seeing the dress Martha was wearing now. It was a little too short which showed in how uncomfortable the medical student looked "Try the brownish-purple one over there. I think that would be better."

"Thanks, Ty," the other girl grinned, grabbing the dress from her pile "Come here for a moment. I think I have an idea for your hair." She grabbed a delicate headband from one of the dressers close to the mirror and gestured for me to turn around "Here." Martha messed around a little before turning me back towards the mirror.

My hair was still open but a little less messy than before with curls falling over my shoulders lightly. The other girl had also put an intricate crystal headband into my hair. It was resting on my forehead like a crown. But it was just thin and delicate enough to look elegant instead of too much "This works," I nodded happily "Thank you, Martha."

"You're welcome," the medical student smiled "I think I'll leave my hair open for once too." She waved around a woven black headband that would keep her hair from her face "Now go, shoo. Make sure the Doctor is actually wearing something presentable."

I grinned "Do you think he wouldn't."

"Well, you did mention something about a jumper," she pointed out "Just… It is going to be a black-tie event after all."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure that he's fine," I told her with a nod "Also… Try to find some plum shoes or some similar colour. Go for something a little bit lighter than the dress."

"Yes, yes," the other girl waved me off "Thanks."

I nodded at her over my shoulder "I should be the one thanking you," I grinned "Anyway, don't take too long." With that, I was out of the wardrobe and on my way to the console room. I was really glad that the Tardis had given me boots without a heel. While I could run in heels, I really didn't want to break my ankle with the amount of running that was involved in almost everything we did recently "You actually did change," I remarked once I saw the Doctor tugging at his bow tie uncomfortably.

"Don't sound so surprised," the Time Lord pouted, turning around. His eyes wandered over my figure before returning to my face. I sent him a smirk, making him look away "You look nice."

My smirk turned to a small smile "Thank you. I like the suit, by the way."

"But whenever I wear it, something bad happens."

I shook my head "That's not the suit," I snorted "That's you."

"Oi," he exclaimed, jabbing his finger into my shoulder "You're not much better."

"Face it," I bantered "You might not like us wandering off but you get into more trouble than we ever could."

The Doctor was about to open his mouth to argue when Martha stepped into the room. I turned to her, noticing the way the dress looked on her "Hey, that dress does look good on you," I complimented with a smile, bouncing over to her.

"It rather does," Martha smiled, turning to the Doctor "Let's get going then, shall we?"

The Time Lord nodded, leading us out of the Tardis and out of Martha's flat. The event was rather close to where the medical student lived, so we decided that walking would be the best choice. Outside, the Doctor started tugging at his bow tie again "Black tie," he grumbled when I slapped his hand away "Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens."

The other girl looked over at him "It's not the outfit, that's just you."

"That's what I said," I snorted, fist-bumping Martha who was grinning as well.

"Anyway, I think it suits you. In a James Bond kind of way," the medical student gestured.

The Doctor grimaced "James Bond? Really?"

"What do you have against James Bond?" the other girl frowned, starting up the steps to the Lazarus Laboratories.

We were allowed in without any trouble, getting in as Martha's company. Which got a weird look from the man with the list but he didn't say anything "Oh, look," the Doctor exclaimed excitedly "They've got nibbles. I love nibbles."

"Hello," the young woman from the TV walked up to us, smiling at Martha happily.

The medical student threw her arms around her sister "Tish."

"You look great," Tish complimented "So, what do you think?" She gestured around the room with a circular dais at one end. I studied the man-sized chamber curiously but was unsure what it was for "Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very," Martha nodded.

Tish grinned at her teasingly "And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life."

"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns," Martha groaned playfully. I shook my head at their interaction. I reminded me of how I was with my siblings. Or Nik and Kol most of all. Elijah and Finn were mostly too protective to banter with. Plus, they were killjoys most of the time. Rebekah was a bit complicated. I loved her, of course, I did but we always had different interests.

"You might, actually," Tish snorted "You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her."

Martha blinked in surprise "Leo in black tie? That I must see." She seemed to remember us when the Doctor shifted behind her "This is – er – the Doctor and Tyra."

"Hello," the Time Lord smiled while I just waved with a small nod.

Tish frowned "Are they with you?"

"Yeah."

"But they're not on the list," the other Jones pointed out "How did they get in?"

Martha sighed "They're my plus ones… plus two? Whatever."

"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?" the Doctor asked the other girl curiously.

"Professor Lazarus, yes," Tish nodded "I'm part of his executive staff."

Martha rolled her eyes "She's in the PR department."

"Head of the PR department, actually," Tish huffed.

I hummed "Congrats, then."

"Thanks," Tish smiled lightly before turning back to her sister "I put this whole thing together."

"So… Do you know what the Professor's going to be doing tonight?" the Time Lord asked, once again drawing the attention to himself "That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator."

Tish looked like she barely withheld a groan "He's a science geek. I should have known. Got to get back to work now." She pointed at Martha "I'll catch up with you later."

"Science geek?" the Doctor repeated with a puzzled frown "What does that mean?"

I snorted in amusement and exchanged a glance with the medical student "You're obsessively enthusiastic about it."

"Oh, nice," the Time Lord nodded.

"That's not a good thing," I pointed out "Normally at least."

Martha waved her hand "It really depends on the context," she agreed.

"Martha," the voice from the phone called out from behind us.

The other girl's face lit up "Mum," she exclaimed, rushing over to an older woman in a tasteful golden brown dress.

Martha's mother looked surprised by the hug "Alright," she raised her eyebrow, pulling away "What's the occasion?"

"What do you mean?" Martha asked, her expression turning innocent "I'm just pleased to see you, that's all."

"You saw me last night," the older woman pointed out.

I made a small noise, catching the Doctor's attention "You actually got the day right for once. I'm impressed."

"Hey," he muttered "I'm not that bad."

"Do you want me to start listing things again?" I asked, tilting my head to look up at him.

The Time Lord held up his hands in surrender "No, no. I'll pass."

I grinned smugly "Thought so."

"I just went home," Martha told her mother, her voice rising a bit.

The older woman crossed her arms in disbelief "On your own?"

The medical student sighed when she saw where her mother was looking "These are friends of mine. Tyra," she gestured to me "And the Doctor."

"Doctor what?" Martha's mother asked.

Martha shook her head "No, it's… just the Doctor. We're been doing some work together."

Leo reached his hand out "You alright, mate?"

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones," the Doctor remarked, shaking their hands "Heard a lot about you."

"Have you?" the older woman asked, glancing at her daughter "What have you heard, then?"

The Doctor froze for a moment "Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and… Er, no, actually, that's about it."

I raised my hand to my forehead with a groan "Shut up," I muttered to him "Just… Do yourself a favour and stop talking."

"Why did I think this was a good idea again?" Martha asked me.

"Don't ask me," I shrugged.

The Doctor shot us a look "Why are you two always ganging up on me?"

"Because you deserve it," both Martha and I chorused with matching smirks.

I shook my head "Anyway, Martha has been a huge help in a joined project the Doctor and I were working on."

"What is this project then?"

"I'm afraid that I won't be of much help with that explanation," I smiled sheepishly, trying to make my story seem as real as possible "Most of what's going on is way over my head. I'm only here for my knowledge in History."

Martha nodded "We have been trying to get a paper together," she said, going along with my idea "About illnesses through the ages and an educated guess of how it will be in the future."

"Is that so?" Martha's mother questioned "And how did you meet?"

I glanced at the medical student "The Doctor needed to go to the hospital yesterday and – well, Martha seemed the right candidate to help us, so we asked her and she said yes."

The older woman was about to open her mouth to ask something else when the old man from the news – Professor Lazarus tapped on his glass, making the crowd quiet down "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I am going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world with will be changed forever." He walked to the chamber, slipping inside as a pair of scientists started up the machine. The four columns around the chamber started to rotate around, pouring energy into the machine. It only took a minute or so before an alarm sounded.

The Doctor startled into action "Something's wrong," he breathed, making his way to the scientists "It's overloading." Sparks flew from the controls followed by smoke. That made the Time Lord rush over while getting out his sonic.

"Somebody stop him," an older woman in a too fancy dress shouted "Get him away from those controls."

The Doctor glared at her "If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it. Is that what you want?" He tried the controls for several more moments before he finally pulled out the power cable. Martha and I rushed over to him when the contraption slowed down and stopped "Get it open."

The medical student pulled the door open as a young man staggered out of it. Lazarus straightened up and I wrinkled my nose. He smelled wrong… Like – His blood was wrong somehow "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy-six years old and I am reborn."

"He did it," the rude old woman from before breathed with a wide grin on her face "He actually did it." It was then and there that I really started to dislike her. In fact, I disliked most of the recent nobility. They were… worse than back when we still mingled with them. More entitled, I guessed.

While Lazarus moved towards the crowd of people, Martha and I joined the Doctor by the controls. The medical student watched the man warily "It can't be the same guy. It's impossible. It must be a trick."

"I don't think it is," I spoke up "He's still the same, kind of at least. There's something weird about him though. He doesn't smell quite right."

"What just happened then?" Martha questioned, seemingly trusting my judgement.

The Doctor stared at the not-so-old-anymore man "He just changed what it means to be human." He kept an eye on the man, walking over once he saw him grabbing a tray of finger food.

"Richard," the stuck-up lady exclaimed in shock.

The man barely reacted, instead shoving food into his mouth "I'm famished," he mumbled through a mouth full of food.

"Energy deficit," the Time Lord said, coming to a stop next to the man "Always happens with this kind of process."

Lazarus raised his eyebrow "You speak as if you see this every day, Mister…?"

"Doctor. And well, no, not every day," the Doctor corrected "But I have some experience with this kind of transformation."

"That's not possible," the man scoffed.

The Doctor accepted the unspoken challenge "Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's inspired."

"You understand the theory, then," Lazarus nodded.

"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables," the Time Lord pointed out.

Lazarus shrugged unconcernedly "No experiment is entirely without risk."

The Doctor snorted, jabbing his finger over his shoulder to where the machine was "That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender."

"You're not qualified to comment," the old woman sniffed.

I tilted my head "And you shouldn't speak of what you don't know."

"How dare… Do you know who I am?" the woman gaped, glaring at me angrily.

I started back, totally and utterly unimpressed "No idea. And I don't particularly care either."

"I'm Lady Thaw."

"And I'm Lady Mikaelson," I shot back "The difference between the two of us is that I don't have to use my title as a weapon."

The Doctor tugged me back some more "Tyra, stop."

I huffed "She started it."

"Eh, that point can be argued," the Time Lord murmured "Hush now." He turned back to Lazarus, his expression turning serious "If I hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded."

"Then I thank you, Doctor," the Professor said reluctantly "But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."

Martha stepped forward "You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests."

"Look at me," the man gestured to himself "You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."

Lady Thaw nodded in agreement "This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially."

"Commercially?" Martha choked "You are joking. That'll cause chaos."

"Didn't you know, Martha? Some people will do everything to stay young forever," I told her quietly. I had seen it time and time again. People trying to get someone to turn them, just so they could live longer, better… Even when they didn't know about vampires, they tried tonics and 'wonder medicines' that are supposed to let them live longer.

Lazarus shook his head "Not chaos, change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."

"This isn't about improving," the Doctor muttered "This is about you and your customers living a little longer."

"Not a little longer," Lazarus pointed out "A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely."

I snorted but kept silent. There is no way mother nature will let anyone live without a way to kill them and constantly de-ageing oneself was definitely not something the laws of nature would approve of. My parents wanted to make my siblings and me completely invincible but that wasn't possible. There is still a way to kill us – technically. Even if the others burned the tree down. I was sure that there were at least some stakes still left with either mother's body or father.

Lady Thaw turned away from us "Richard, we have things to discuss… upstairs." And wasn't it clear what she meant by that?

Lazarus nodded absentmindedly "Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." He kissed Martha's hand, nodding to me before leaving with Lady Thaw. Either he thought I looked young enough for him not getting away with that hand kiss thing or he had seen my glare, daring him to try it.

"Oh, he's out of his depth," the Doctor sighed, shaking his head "No idea of the damage he might have done." He looked down at me "Did you get anything else from him?"

I shook my head "No, but something's definitely up with him. It sounded like there was something shifting under his skin. Not too noticeable but I could hear it."

"And didn't you say he smells different?" the Time Lord questioned, narrowing his eyes in thought."

"Yeah," I murmured "But I – I really don't know what it is. It's not familiar at all."

Martha grins lightly, holding up her hand "How about we do our own tests? After all, I have just collected a DNA sample."

The Doctor mirrored her grin "Oh, Martha Jones, you are a star."

A little while later, we were crowded around a computer screen, looking at the DNA displayed there.

"Amazing," the Doctor whistled, sounding a mix between impressed and slightly horrified.

Martha frowned at the monitor "What?"

"Lazarus' DNA," the Time Lord pointed out.

I blinked at the picture in slight confusion "There's nothing different, is there?" Just as I said that the image changed once before returning to normal.

"Oh, my God," Martha gasped "Did that just change? But it can't have…"

"Is that what I heard?" I asked curiously "Him changing?"

The Doctor tilted his head "You didn't hear his DNA."

I shot him an annoyed and unimpressed look "You don't say," I deadpanned "I could have gotten that myself but if his DNA is changing, his body should be as well, no?"

"Maybe," the Time Lord nodded "Possibly. Most likely."

The medical student shook her head next to me "But that's impossible. It can't have changed."

"That makes two impossible things we've seen so far tonight," the Doctor pointed out "Don't you love it when that happens?"

"That means that Lazarus changed his own molecular pattern," Martha pointed out, her forehead wrinkled thoughtfully.

The Doctor hummed "Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands." He paused for a moment, gesturing with his hands "Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate."

"But they're still mutating," the other girl pointed out.

"Because he missed something," the Time Lord explained "Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise. Something that's trying to change him."

Martha raised her eyebrows, her expression turning into dread "Change him into what?"

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted with a sigh "But I think we need to find out."

"Lady Thaw said they were going upstairs," I murmured "Maybe that is a place to start. Even if I really don't want to see what they've been doing…"

Martha shot me a look "What?"

"Didn't you see that she was all over him?" I blinked "It was subtle but… They definitely had something going on."

"Does it matter?" the Doctor asked, his voice holding a hint of annoyance "Let's go."

I huffed, following after him "Sorry, brings back bad memories. I really don't enjoy these circles anymore. Actually, I never really did. I coped but… Eh."

We walked upstairs, looking for Lazarus' office, hoping to find the man before anything bad could happen. Martha looked around, wrinkling her nose at the high handedness of the office "This is his office, alright."

"So where is he?" the Doctor murmured, looking around the large room.

The medical student shrugged, watching me as I frowned. There was a smell in the air – one that I knew all too well "Don't know," Martha said "Let's try back at the reception… Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded absentmindedly, walking around the desk "It smells like death."

Martha peaked over the desk, seeing what I was seeing "Is that Lady Thaw?" she questioned in horror when she saw the skeleton sticking out from behind the desk.

"Used to be," the Time Lord breathed, crouching down next to the woman "Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange. Or like a vampire drinking blood." He sent me a quick smirk "Only with – you know, life energy."

"Lazarus?" Martha asked.

The Doctor shrugged "Could be."

"Does that mean he has changed already or he is gathering enough energy to change?" I frowned, turning away from the corpse.

"That is the question," the Doctor pointed out "You both saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough."

The other girl paled "So he might do this again?"

"Is that even a question?" I asked.

"You're probably right," Martha agreed "We should find him. And quickly."

The Doctor nodded, moving back towards the elevators, pressing the button "I hate this suit," he grumbled.

"I told you and I will tell you again," I rolled my eyes "This is so not the suit's fault."

"I so don't believe you," the Time Lord shook his head.

As soon as the doors opened in the reception room, Martha craned her neck, looking around "I can't see him."

"He can't be far," the Doctor pointed out "Keep looking. Ty, see if you can sniff him out."

I raised my eyebrows "What am I? A dog?"

"Go fetch," the Time Lord shot back with a grin.

I was about to tell him exactly what I thought when Leo joined us "Are you alright, Marth? I think Mum wants to talk to you."

"Have you seen Lazarus anywhere?" the other girl asked, ignoring the remark about her mother.

Leo nodded "Yeah, well, he was getting cosy with Tish a couple of minutes ago."

Martha swallowed "With Tish?"

"Ah, Doctor," Martha's mother called out, stopping in front of us with a glass of champagne in her hand.

"Where did they go?" the Doctor demanded, staring at Leo urgently.

The young man blinked in surprise "Upstairs, I think. Why?"

"Doctor…" Mrs Jones started, letting out a gasp when the Doctor hurried past her, spilling her drink all over her arm and the right side of her dress "I'm speaking to you."

Martha rushed after the Doctor while I grabbed a napkin, handing it to the woman "You alright? I'm really sorry about him."

"It's not your fault," the woman sighed, taking the napkin with a small, thankful smile.

"Still," I sighed "The Doctor has a thing about pissing off people without meaning to."

Martha's mother raised an eyebrow "I can believe that. How long have you known him?"

I bit my lip "Erm… About two or two and a half years."

"Here," a man said, holding out a glass of champagne to the older woman "I think you're going to need one of these."

"Mr Saxon," Martha's mother gaped, her eyes widened a little upon seeing the man. She took the glass gratefully "Thank you."

I looked at him, slightly curious why the woman seemed so awed by the man's appearance "I take it I should know who you are?"

"Mr Saxon runs for Prime Minister," the older woman pointed out.

"Okay," I nodded before muttering to myself "No wonder that I didn't know."

Saxon mustered me with a weird look in his eyes. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he knew about me somehow. But that was impossible, right? I had never seen this man before. There was something about him though, something I couldn't put my finger on "I take it you're not going to vote for me, then?" A small hint of amusement swung in his tone.

"Not a British citizen," I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder. The Doctor wasn't back yet and that was slightly worrying.

"You have an accent," Martha's mother frowned.

I sent her a mischievous grin, already starting to move in the direction of the elevators when I saw the lights flicker lightly "I do but it's not British. Excuse me."

"Tish, isn't there another way out of here?" the Doctor demanded, bursting out of the door to the stairwell.

Tish nodded "There's an exit in the corner but it'll be locked now."

"Ty, setting fifty-four. Hurry." He shoved the sonic into my hands before shooing us away to address the rest of the people in the room "Listen to me. You people are in serious danger. You need to get out of here right now."

A woman in the crowd scoffed in disbelief "Don't be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."

I froze for a moment when a very mutant Lazarus appeared. That was what the smell was. Scorpion? Something like that? I didn't even want to know how that guy had something in his DNA that triggered… that. The mutant jumped down from the mezzanine, smashing a table as people all around started to panic, running towards the locked doors.

"Mum, get back," Leo called out somewhere close to me.

I turned in the direction of the voice, seeing Lazarus sending a table at Leo, hitting him "Martha, go and look after him. I'll get the exit open." I rushed through the crowd, trying not to get trampled. As soon as I was close enough to the door I glanced down at the screwdriver in my hand before just kicking the door in. Somehow that always seemed to work better "Out, everyone out," I shouted over the screams as I fought my way back to where the Doctor and Martha were.

"No," I heard the Doctor calling out before seeing Lazarus standing over the woman who had spoken earlier "Get away from her." I grimaced when her desiccated corpse fell to the ground, causing even more panic.

"Leo," Mrs Jones gasped, going to help Martha and Leo "Martha."

I came to a stop next to the Doctor when Lazarus turned on the Jones family. The Time Lord cursed under his breath "Lazarus, leave them alone." He shoved me to the side when Lazarus turned towards us "Go, Ty."

"Really?" I huffed, crouching down next to Leo who was still on the ground "Are you alright?"

Martha shook her head "He's got a concussion."

"What is the Doctor doing?" Tish gasped, seeing the Time Lord talking to the mutant.

"Buying us some time," I told her, grabbing the young man's arm gently "So let's get a move on. I don't like leaving him to fend for himself for longer than necessary."

Martha grabbed Leo's other arm, helping me to lead him towards the doors "Tish, move," the medical student hissed at her sister "We need to get out of here."

Downstairs, people were piling up against the glass doors, trying desperately to get out of the laboratory "We can't get out," Tish called out "We're trapped."

"No, we're not," Martha shot back "Ty?"

I glanced at the doors critically for a moment before pushing through the people again. Tish frowned "What are you doing?" she questioned.

"You'll see," I told her, kicking against the doors with all my strength. They were better locked than the exit door from earlier, so it needed a little more of a kick. It might have been a little too much though. The door bounced off the glass wall behind it and shattered. Again. Wasn't this the same way I broke the doors of that school where we met Sarah Jane?

Martha grabbed my arm as soon as everyone was outside "We have to go back."

"I do," I told her, gently pushing her towards her family "You stay with your family. I think they need you more."

"Are you sure?" the medical student asked.

I grinned lightly "I'm very sure. Make sure they're alright. That's more important. I can handle looking after the Doctor for now."

Martha nodded "Alright. And Ty? Be careful in there."

"I'll be fine," I told her before running back inside, listening for any noises "Now, where is he?" I mutter to myself, not stopping in my run. There was a loud – very loud explosion somewhere close by "Never mind. Follow the explosion it is."

It didn't take long for me to run into the Doctor "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't think I'd let you do this on your own, did you? Plus, I've still got this." I held up the sonic with a small smirk "I kicked in the doors in, so there was no need for that."

The Time Lord shook his head "You have a thing for kicking in doors, don't you? How many does that make?"

I shrugged "Lost track. Anyway, where is Lazarus?"

"I blasted him," the Doctor gestured.

"Meaning?" I asked wearily.

A roar sounded behind us "It annoyed him, I'd say."

"Oh, you think?" I snorted, running after him, hoping that he knew what he was doing. If not, I would have to fight. I blinked when he stopped in reception "Please tell me that you have a plan."

The Doctor grabbed my arm, pulling me to the manipulator chamber on the dais "We can't lead him outside. Come on, get in."

I leaned against the far side of the chamber, listening to the mutant's loud approach "Tell me what you think," I murmured, watching the Time Lord "He knows we're here."

"I know," the Doctor nodded "But this is his masterpiece."

Realization dawned on me "He won't destroy it."

"Exactly. Not even to get at us."

"There's just one thing… We're trapped in here," I told him "This is Downing Street all over again."

The Doctor shot me a disgruntled look "What is it with you referencing old adventures?"

I shrugged "Maybe I want you to get your head out of your ass and change your mind about leaving Martha at home."

"Why are you so against leaving Martha?" the Doctor frowned, getting out his sonic again. He glanced over at me before sliding to the ground, starting to work on whatever he was planning.

"Because she's good," I remarked "She's brilliant and I really like her. I want to see what else she can do and to be honest."

The Time Lord hummed "Alright, then," he smiled, looking up for a short moment "If that's really what you want."

"Why were you so against it anyway?" I questioned, stiffening when I heard Lazarus closing in.

The Doctor shook his head, focussing back on whatever he was doing "I need your help for a moment. Can you hold this?"

I sank to my knees, barely managing to squeeze down next to the Doctor in the tiny chamber. The two of us were slightly closer than I would have liked since being this close to the Doctor was a little distracting "Sure. What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm trying to set the capsule to reflect the energy rather than receive it," he told me just as the chamber whirred to life.

I shivered "Hurry up then. I really don't want to know what I'll turn into. Being a vampire is more than enough without having to worry about being a giant scorpion mutant thing."

"Yes, yes," the Time Lord grumbled "Just one more, alright. Hold this." I adjusted my hands slightly before the Doctor let out a triumphant noise. There was a big blast and the sound of Lazarus hitting the ground as the machine stopped, smoking a little. The Doctor looked behind him once we stepped out "It really shouldn't have taken that long to reverse the polarity." He swallowed, looking away when he caught my eyes "I must be out of practice."

"Right," I muttered, seeing a naked Lazarus lying face down "Well, this is awkward. And a little pitiful."

The Doctor sighed, kneeling down next to the dead man "Eliot saw that too. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but with a whimper."

"Are we talking Earth world or universe world? Because the way I remember, Platform One was very… bang-y."

"Alright," the Doctor huffed "I got it. You can stop backtracking now. I was there for all those adventures."

I grinned "But then I wouldn't be able to annoy you into doing what I want."

"That… You… Urgh," the Time Lord groaned, running a hand down his face.

I patted his chest, barely suppressing the laughter at his expression "I'm getting the paramedics. Are you staying with him?"

"Sure," the Doctor nodded "I want to check something before they take him."

"Have fun," I told him, jogging down the stairs and out of the doors where everyone was still milling around. A little down from the door, an ambulance was waiting. I walked past Martha and her family, giving her a nod before coming to a stop next to the open back of the ambulance "Lazarus is inside."

The paramedics looked up "What happened?"

I raised my hands "The Doctor will tell you what you need to know. He's inside with the body."

"Alright, thank you."

"What happened?" Martha asked as soon as I came to a halt next to her.

I tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear and sighed "I'll tell you later, alright?"

The medical student nodded "Alright. But you're okay? And the Doctor?"

"We're both fine," I soothed, looking over my shoulder when I felt the Doctor's familiar presence at my back "You got what you wanted?"

"I have," the Time Lord inclined his head before smiling at Martha's mother who was glaring at him "Mrs Jones. I…" He was cut off when the woman slapped him hard.

The woman gritted her teeth "Keep away from my daughter."

"Mum, what are you doing?" Martha gasped.

"All the mothers," the Doctor grumbled while I tilted his head, looking at his reddened cheek with a small smirk "Every time."

"Better be glad that mine is dead, then," I told him.

He looked down "It's not your parents that I'm scared of. It's your brothers."

"Well, you met two of them," I pointed out "The worst, actually. I think you'll be fine."

"He is dangerous," Martha's mother exclaimed, jabbing her finger in the Doctor's direction "I've been told things."

Martha shook her head in confusion "What things? When? I was with you the whole time."

"Look around you," the older woman gestured "Nothing but death and destruction."

"This isn't his fault," the medical student defended the Time Lord "He saved us, all of us."

Leo nodded "And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say technically, it's her fault." Tish elbowed her brother in annoyance when a crash sounded.

"Come on," the Doctor muttered, tugging me along gently. I followed him, Martha and Tish running after us with Mrs Jones protesting behind us. When we reached the site of the crash, the back of the ambulance was open and only contained desiccated corpses of the men I had spoken to earlier. The Doctor grimaced at the scene "Lazarus, back from the dead," he spat "Should have known, really." He scanned the area with his sonic screwdriver.

"Where's he gone?" Martha questioned, looking around.

The Time Lord gestured "That way. The church."

"Cathedral," Tish corrected, making all of us look at her "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."

Martha looked up at the Cathedral "Do you think he's in there?"

The Doctor nodded, already on his way inside "Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?"

We walked up to the altar where Lazarus was shivering, wrapped in a red blanket "I came here before," he murmured "A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz," the Doctor realized, his voice softening slightly.

Lazarus looked up "You read about it."

"I was there," the Time Lord pointed out "Tyra was as well."

The naked man scoffed "You're too young."

The Doctor grinned a little "So are you."

Lazarus let out a laugh that ended with a groan as his body made painful cracking sounds. His transformation was very similar to that of a werewolf, actually. Now that I saw it happening… Maybe what happened to his DNA was similar to what happened after a werewolf triggered its gene. When his pain subsided, he continued speaking softly "In the morning, the fires had died and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

"That's what you were trying to do today?" the Doctor asked with a frown.

"That's what I did today," the man pointed out.

I made a small sound "Yeah, no. People died, Lazarus. I think it's safe to say that your experiment failed."

"They were nothing," Lazarus spat "I changed the course of history."

The Doctor crossed his arms "Any of them might have done too. You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."

"No, Doctor," the mutant shook his head "Avoiding death, that's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being. I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more successful."

"Look at yourself," the Time Lord gestured "You're mutating. You've no control over it. You call that a success?"

Lazarus shrugged "I call it progress. I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human."

"There's no such thing as an ordinary human," the Doctor said as Lazarus convulsed again.

Martha stepped towards us, lowering her voice "He's going to change again any minute."

"I know," the Doctor whispered back "If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I have an idea that might work."

The medical student looked up "Up there?"

Lazarus groaned "You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look."

"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one." Here he sent me a sad smile and squeezed my hand "In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle, tried of losing everyone that matters to you, tried of watching everything turn to dust. If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."

"That's a price worth paying," the man told us.

I shook my head at him "You might think that now but that will change. You won't stop losing people you care about – and it will continue until you don't care anymore and just want to die. To leave the pain and the suffering of the world. There is nothing good about living forever."

"I will feed soon," Lazarus rasped, ignoring what I had said.

The Doctor stepped closer to him "I'm not going to let that happen."

"You've not been able to stop me so far," the man pointed out.

"Leave him, Lazarus," Martha called out from further away than she had been just a minute ago. I looked around in confusion to see her backing towards the staircase to the tower "He's old and bitter. I thought you had a taste for fresher meat."

"Martha, no," the Doctor shouted.

Lazarus lunged for Martha who started running, her sister only a step behind "What are you doing?" I heard the medical student pant.

"Keeping you out of trouble," Tish shot back.

"Doctor," Martha shouted "The tower."

The Time Lord stared after them for the shortest of moments before he hurried to the transept, underneath the central tower "Where are they?" he asked before raising his voice "Martha?"

The other girl looked down from the passageway for a moment "Doctor?"

"Take him to the top," the Time Lord called to her "The very top of the bell tower, do you hear me?"

Martha nodded "Up to the top."

"Martha," I heard Tish breathe, her voice shaking the tiniest bit.

"Then what?" the medical student asked, still looking down.

"Martha, come on," the other Jones girl hissed, tugging at her sister's arm. The two of them disappeared, running further up as the mutant followed them. I stayed where I was for a moment while the Doctor headed for the organ loft. I reluctantly ripped my eyes from the passageway, trudging after the Time Lord.

"Hypersonic sound waves," the Doctor muttered when I entered "Inspired." He stuck his sonic into the power socket before pulling out the stop. His gaze caught mine "I'm sorry in advance. I hope it's a good acoustic in here." He pressed on both pedals before I could do more than catch up to what he was going to do.

As soon as he started playing, I hissed, clutching my ears. No wonder I never went to church – other than the fact that I wasn't Christian. This was more than unpleasant. I heard the Doctor's murmuring voice but couldn't make out the words. A moment later, I more than regretted not leaving as soon as he started playing. The noise got louder and louder, making me fall to the ground, clutching at my ears tighter than before.

Over the notes of the organ, I could make out a very dull thump somewhere close and breathed a sigh of relief when the Time Lord stopped playing "Martha?" the Doctor called out.

"I'm okay," the medical student called back after a few tense minutes in which I had climbed to my feet, massaging my now aching ears. I wiggled my finger around in them carefully, trying to get the noise to stop "We're both okay."

"Are you alright?" the Time Lord asked, turning to me.

I glared "Next time, give me a bit more of a warning, would you? Because I'm not sure how much more my ears can take."

"Sorry," the Doctor grinned unrepentantly.

"Oh, you will be," I huffed, thinking about how I could make him pay for what he did.

At the bottom of the tower, Lazarus was lying, his body twisted with more than a few broken bones. He had turned back into an old man. The Doctor closed his eyes gently as Martha and Tish came running out of the passageway. The medical student threw her arms around the Doctor in a hug "I didn't know you could play."

"Oh well," the Doctor shrugged "You know if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up."

I huffed, pressing my hand to my left ear "I can still hear it," I complained.

Martha winced "I completely forgot about your hearing."

"Yeah," I muttered "Be glad that you're not me. Because… Ouch."

"Don't be a baby, Ty," the Doctor told me, ruffling my hair.

I slugged him in the stomach harder than strictly necessary, making him curl his arm over his middle "You more than deserved that. Be glad that it wasn't your face."

"Geez," he gasped, straightening up carefully "I'll definitely think about doing that again."

"Good," I nodded in satisfaction.

Now that everything was over, we avoided the rest of Martha's family, heading back to the medical student's apartment. The Doctor unlocked the Tardis, stepping to the side to let me enter before him "Something else that just kind of escalated, then."

"I can see a pattern developing," Martha grinned "You should take more care in the future. And the past. And whatever other time period you find yourselves in."

The Doctor scratched at his head nervously "It's good fun, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Martha murmured, lowering her eyes a little.

I rolled my eyes "Oh for the love of… Can you get to the point, Doctor? Listening to this is way more painful than it should be." I shoved the Time Lord out of the way and held my hand out to the other girl "If you still want to, we'd love for you to come along some more."

"I can't go on like this," the medical student pointed out, not taking my hand "One more trip… That's not fair."

"I know," I told her "That's why I'm not saying it. I mean it, Martha. We want you to come with us. Not for one trip, for as long as you want to."

The Doctor made a noise of protest "Hey, my Tardis."

I shrugged "You wouldn't get to the point. If I had let you invite her, we would still be here tomorrow and I would like to get some sleep and feed before we run into another situation."

Martha gaped "Really? I mean, I can really come with you two?"

"Really," I smiled.

The girl wrapped her arms around me happily "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I told her "Now, come on. I think it's time I show you around the Tardis. You'll love the library… and the swimming pool."

The Doctor wrinkled his forehead "The swimming pool is in the library."

"Shh," I hushed him, wrapping my hand around his mouth "No spoilers."

"There's a swimming pool in the library?" Martha asked "That I have to see."

I gestured to the corridor "Let's go then." Before I was out of the console room, I turned back to the Doctor "I'm going to the garden later… If you want to come to?"

The Doctor nodded with a smile "Sure. I'll see you in a bit."


	23. 42

I was once again sitting on the jump seat, watching what was going on in front of me with a small grin. The Doctor was using his sonic on Martha's mobile phone, insuring that she could call anyone, anytime, anywhere. It was as good as an admission that she was a Companion now. Not that she hadn't been before but now it was official.

"Right," the Time Lord nodded, handing the device back to Martha "There we go. Universal roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again."

"No way," the other girl gaped "This is too mad. You're telling me I can phone anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?"

The Doctor nodded "As long as you know the area code. Frequent lier's privilege." He gestured to the mobile "Go on, try it." Before she could, though, the Tardis shuddered, causing the Time Lord to snap back to attention "Distress signal. Locking on. Might be a bit of…" The two of them were knocked to the floor, while I barely managed not to fall from the seat "Turbulence."

"A bit?" I snorted "Doc, we have to work on your warnings."

He shot me a small glare "Sorry," he huffed with a pout "Come on, then. Let's take a look."

We stepped out of the doors into a small room filled with steam and glowing red " _Distress signal transmitted,_ " the computer announced.

"Whoa," the Doctor gasped, waving his hand at the air "Now that is hot."

Martha groaned "Urgh, it's like a sauna in here."

I shrugged off the jacket I was wearing, throwing it through the still open doorway behind me. Meanwhile, the Doctor had started looking around the room curiously "Venting systems," he pointed out "Working at full pelt, trying to cool down. Wherever it is we are." He paused, raising his eyebrow at Martha "Well, if you can't stand the heat…"

"Oi," a voice called out as the three of us stepped through a bulkhead door "You three."

"Get out of there," a woman demanded, her tone somewhat panicked.

The man who had spoken first slammed the door close "Seal that door, now."

"Who are you?" the woman blinked as soon as it was done "What are you doing on my ship?"

"Are you the police?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "Why would we be police?"

"We got your distress signal," Martha pointed out.

The Time Lord paused "If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines? Ty, do you hear anything?"

I tilted my head "No. Well, except for what I think is the venting but nothing that would be…"

"It went dead four minutes ago," the Captain of the ship cut me off.

Another man walked up "So maybe we should stop chatting and get to Engineering… Captain."

" _Secure closure active,_ " the computer announced, causing the crew to startle.

"What?" the Captain frowned.

"The ship's gone mad," the man who had entered last huffed.

Another woman came running towards us, bulkheads slamming shut behind her "Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked into Area twenty-seven." The last bulkhead slammed shut and the woman seemed to notice us "Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor, I'm Martha and that's Tyra," the medical student introduced us with a small wave "Hello."

" _Impact projection forty-two minutes twenty-seven seconds._ "

"We'll get out of this," the Captain told her crew "I promise."

I turned my attention to Martha who had gone over to a porthole "Doctor," she called out.

"Forty-two minutes until what?" the Time Lord asked.

I pointed to Martha "I think Martha might know," I murmured, leaning to look around the other girl. At the sight, I blinked "A sun? Well, at least it's not a black hole this time. Although… What's worse?"

"Sun," the Doctor gave back absentmindedly before turning to the Captain "How many crew members on board?"

"Seven," the woman replied "Including us."

"We transport cargo across the galaxy," they explained "Everything's automated. We just keep the ship space-worthy."

I looked around "And apparently aren't doing a good job at it?"

The Doctor raised his hand to lightly hit me over the back of my head "Call the others," he told the crew "I'll get you out." He ran to the door we had come through earlier.

"What's he doing?" one of the men demanded, his eyes wide.

"No," the Captain called out "Don't."

As soon as the door was open, the Doctor got knocked back by a blast of heat. Another one of the women put on a welder's mask, pressing the door shut as quickly as possible "But my ship's in there," the Doctor breathed.

"In the venting chamber?"

"It's out lifeboat," the Time Lord muttered.

The man next to the captain shook his head "It's lava."

"The temperature's going mad in there." The woman took off the welder's mask, turning towards us "Up three thousand degrees in ten seconds and still rising."

"Channelling the air," the other man murmured – I really needed to find out their names. This was getting ridiculous "The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's going to get."

Martha let out a shuddering breath, leaning a little closer to me "We're stuck here."

The Doctor huffed "So, we fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun. Simple." The others looked at him uncertainly "Engineering down here, is it?"

"Yes," the Captain nodded, raising her eyebrow.

" _Impact in forty twenty-six._ "

On the way to Engineering, the crew members finally introduced themselves. I kept close to Martha, making sure that she was alright. In the almost three years with the Doctor I was more or less used to being stranded somewhere and we always got out of it one way or another "It's gonna be alright," I mumbled, nudging the other girl's side.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, turning her head to look at me.

I pointed to the Doctor "Have you met him? As if this is the first time something like this happened." I grinned at the Doctor's back when I heard him grumbling under his breath "At least the Tardis is still on board and hasn't fallen into a black hole yet."

"Black hole?" Riley questioned, looking back at me curiously "You mentioned that before."

"It's a long story," I gave back with a sheepish grin "Nothing that someone would believe if you told them. Trust me, I tried."

The Doctor tilted his head "Who did you try to tell?"

"Kol," I shrugged.

"Kol didn't know what a black hole was at the time," the Time Lord pointed out "You can't compare that to not believing."

I snorted "No, but he didn't believe that we met the Devil."

Martha choked "Sorry, what?"

"You really don't want to know," I told her "It included a lot of things falling – including us."

The medical student was about to say something else when the Doctor made a shocked noise "Blimey, do you always leave things in such a mess?"

"Oh, my God," Captain McDonnell gasped, staring at the destruction that was their engineering.

"What the hell happened?" Scannell frowned.

Riley inspected what I assumed to be the engine. It was practically a collection of bits and pieces by now "It's wrecked."

The Doctor nodded "Pretty efficiently too. Someone knew what they were doing."

"Where's Korwin?" Captain McDonnell asked, looking around in something akin to panic "Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?"

Scannell shook his head "No."

Martha stepped forward, coming to a halt next to the Doctor "You mean someone did this on purpose?"

The Captain ignored her, walking over to the intercom "Korwin? Ashton? Where are you? Korwin, can you answer?" She let out a sigh, stepping back "Where the hell is he? He should be up here."

"Oh," the Doctor exclaimed, catching a glimpse out of the window "We're in the Torajii system. Lovely. You're a long way from home, Martha. Half a universe away."

"Yeah," Martha mumbled "Feels it."

The Time Lord looked at the crew "And you're still using energy scoops for fusion? Hasn't that been outlawed yet?"

"We're due to upgrade next docking," McDonnell explained "Scannell, engine report."

"No response," the man said, looking up from what he was doing.

"What?"

Scannell shrugged "They're burned out. The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."

The Doctor scoffed lightly "Oh, come on. Auxiliary engines. Every craft's got auxiliaries."

"We don't have access from here," McDonnell muttered "The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship."

"Yeah," Scannell added "With twenty-nine password sealed doors between us and them. You'll never get there in time."

Martha frowned in confusion "Can't you override the doors?"

"No," Scannell shook his head "Sealed closure means what it says. They're all dead-lock sealed."

"Ty doesn't seem to have a problem with dead-locks," the medical student murmured.

I huffed "Just because I kicked in a few doors."

"A few?" the Doctor laughed "I think you opened more dead-locked doors since I knew you than anything else."

"Didn't hear you complain before," I rolled my eyes.

Scannell tilted his head in confusion "How can you…?"

"Best not to ask," I advised "Even though you'll probably find out anyway. Not now, though."

"Nothing's any use, then," Scannell grumbled "We've got no engines, no time and no chance."

The Doctor crossed his arms, shooting the man an unimpressed look "Oh, listen to you. Defeated before you've even started. Where's your Dunkirk spirit? Who's got the door passwords?"

The second man from before popped up from somewhere. Where had he been? I didn't even notice him disappear earlier "They're randomly generated," he explained "Reckon I know most of them. Sorry. Riley Vashti."

"Then what're you waiting for, Riley Vashti?" the Doctor gestured "Get on it."

Riley hesitated "Well, it's a two-person job. One, a technish for the questions and the other to carry this." He shot his Captain a look "The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh, Captain?"

"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh, Riley?" McDonnell shot back.

The man huffed in amusement, putting a massive backpack on "Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice…"

"I'll help you," Martha offered "Make myself useful."

"It's remotely controlled by the computer panel," Riley explained "That's why it needs two."

The Doctor turned to look at Martha when she went to follow the other man "Oi. Be careful."

"You too," the medical student smiled "Ty, make sure he stays out of trouble."

I saluted playfully and had to suppress the laugh at the Time Lord's annoyed expression "Why are the two of you always ganging up on me?"

"Because you're making it too easy for us," I snorted.

" _McDonnell,_ " a man's voice came through the intercom " _It's Ashton._ "

"Where are you?" the Captain demanded "Is Korwin with you?"

The man was silent for a moment " _Get up to the med-centre now._ "

I followed the Doctor and McDonnell past Martha and Riley out of the door, glancing back at the other girl for a moment.

" _Impact in thirty-four thirty-one._ "

I looked up at the ceiling "Cheery. Time limits are always very… fun," I grumbled to myself.

"Really?" the Doctor sighed "You're not normally this… Well."

"What?" I challenged, raising my eyebrow.

The Time Lord shook his head "Never mind."

It was then that we arrived at the med-centre where a man and a woman were trying to hold another man down. From the looks of it, they were trying to put him in some sort of MRI scanner or something. I was sure that it wasn't it but I had never seen this machine before "Argh," the man screamed "Stop it."

The woman leaned forward "Korwin, it's Abi. Open your eyes, I need to take a look at you."

McDonnell pushed past them "Korwin," she breathed "What's happened? Is he okay?"

"Help me," Korwin pleaded "It's burning me."

The Doctor let out a long breath "How long's he been like that?" he asked Abi.

"Ashton just brought him in," Abi replied, watching the Doctor scan Korwin with his sonic. I just stayed back, watching what happened from the sidelines. It wasn't as if I could do anything helpful anyway.

"What are you going?" Captain McDonnell frowned, trying to get closer to the man writhing on the table.

The Time Lord shifted, blocking her way "Don't get too close."

"Don't be so stupid," McDonnell snapped "He's my husband."

"And he's just sabotaged out ship," Ashton muttered, glaring at the other man.

McDonnell whirled around "What?"

"He went mad," Ashton explained "He put the ship into secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls."

"No way," McDonnell denied "He wouldn't do that."

Ashton shrugged "I saw it happen, Captain."

"Korwin?" the Doctor called out quietly "Korwin, open your eyes for me a second."

The man shook his head jerkily "I can't."

"Yeah, course you can," the Time Lord encouraged "Go on."

"Don't make me look at you, please," Korwin pleaded, getting more and more panicked by the second.

The Doctor let out a sigh, taking some sort of gun from a nearby medical tray "Alright," he soothed "Alright. Just relax." He glanced to Abi next to him, gesturing to the gun "Sedative?"

"Yes," Abi nodded.

"What's wrong with him?" McDonnell questioned as soon as the man stopped struggling.

The Doctor bit his lip "Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings. Stasis chamber… I do love a good stasis chamber." He turned to Abi again "Keep him sedated in there. Regulate the body temperature. And, just for fun, run a bio-scan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail."

Abi gestured to the monitors "Just doing them now."

"Oh, you're good," the Doctor grinned, coming over to where I was leaning against a wall "Anyone else presenting these symptoms?"

"Not so far," the young woman shook her head.

The Time Lord nodded "Well, that's something."

"Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?" McDonnell demanded, looking from Abi to the Doctor in annoyance.

"Some sort of infection," the Doctor murmured "We'll know more after the test results. Now, allons-y, back downstairs." When McDonnell didn't move, the Doctor waved his hand in front of her face "Hey. See about those engines. Go. Hey. Go." The Captain hesitantly followed Ashton out of the room, leaving Abi and us with an unconscious Korwin "Call us if there's news." When it looked like the woman was about to say something, he tilted his head "Any questions?"

Abi nodded "Yeah… Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself "That's Tyra. Come on, let's go to the others."

I hesitated "Actually, I think I'm going to stay here. Make sure everything is alright… I don't think you need me down in Engineering. Not like I can help anyway."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked quietly.

"Yeah," I smiled, nudging him towards the door "Go. I'll be here." He nodded, squeezing my shoulder on his way past. I sighed as soon as he was gone and shook my head "Stupid, overprotective friends…"

Abi sent me an amused look "He do that often?"

I grimaced "You have no idea. I don't even know why he's that worried."

"Because he cares, I guess," the other woman shrugged.

"I know that but it's not like I can die easily. He should be more worried about himself," I muttered, leaning against the desk next to her. One glance at the monitors taught me nothing at all "Mind explaining what's going on there? That's practically another language for me."

Abi laughed lightly "Sure." She gestured to all the different digits and parts of the screen, explaining what was going on and what she was testing.

Just when she finished explaining everything, the Doctor's voice came through the intercom " _Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bio-scan?_ "

"He's under heavy sedation," she replied "I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know."

The Doctor hummed in agreement " _Martha? Riley?_ " he questioned " _How are you doing?_ "

" _Area twenty-nine,_ " the medical student called back " _At the door to twenty-eight._ "

"Yeah… _You've got to move faster._ "

Martha scoffed lightly " _We're doing out best._ "

" _Find the next number in the sequence three one three, three three one, three six seven,_ " Riley read out " _What?_ "

I was completely focused on their conversation at this point, keeping quiet as to not distract Abi more than strictly necessary " _You said the crew knew all the answers,_ " Martha pointed out.

Riley huffed " _The crew's changed since we set the questions._ "

" _You're joking,_ " Martha deadpanned.

" _Three seven nine,_ " the Doctor cut in before the two could argue any more.

They were quiet for the shortest moment before " _What?_ "

" _It's a sequence of happy primes,_ " the Time Lord explained " _Three seven nine._ "

I frowned in absolute confusion. Happy what? The medical student apparently echoed my sentient " _Happy what?_ "

The Doctor let out a groan " _Just enter it,_ " he grumbled.

" _Are you sure?_ " Riley asked somewhat hesitantly " _We only get one chance._ "

" _Any number that reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits and you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number,_ " the Doctor explained with a sigh " _Any number that doesn't… isn't. A happy prime is a number that is both happy and prime. Now type it in."_ His voice lowered a little and I could imagine him running a hand through his hair in frustration " _I don't know, talk about dumbing down. Don't they teach recreational mathematics anymore?_ "

Instead of answering him, Martha breathed a sigh of relief " _We're through._ "

" _Keep moving,_ " the Doctor insisted " _Fast as you can. And Martha? Be careful. There may be something else on board this ship._ "

" _Any time you want to unnerve me, feel free,_ " the other girl scoffed.

I looked over at the intercom "One good thing about this, Martha. It's not the Devil. Doctor, I have a bad case of deja-vu if I'm honest. I may not get any of those stupid readings but…"

" _So I'm not imagining it,_ " the Time Lord sighed " _Abi, got anything?_ "

"Not yet," the woman shook her head "Nothing I would be comfortable with. There are some things I have to recheck first. A few more minutes."

" _Impact in thirty fifty._ "

I glared up at the ceiling "Did I ever mention that I hate countdowns? And computers on spaceships? They tend to deliver bad news wherever we go."

"The more I heard from you, the less I want to have your life, _"_ Abi murmured, keeping her focus on the screens. Her forehead was wrinkled as her eyes flew over the data.

"And to think you barely heard me mention anything. Maybe I should rethink my life," I remarked jokingly.

" _Doctor?_ " Martha asked a moment later.

" _What is it now?_ " the Time Lord snapped. He seemed to be a little stressed. Not that I didn't understand. Time limits were always nerve-wreaking.

The medical student ignored his tone " _Who had the most number ones, Elvis or the Beatles. That's pre-download._ "

" _Elvis,_ " the Doctor answered " _No. The Beatles… No. Wait. Er, oh… What was that remix?_ " He sighed " _I don't know. I am a bit busy._ "

" _Fine,_ " Martha huffed " _I'll ask someone else._ " A moment later " _Ty, do you know?_ "

I scratched my head "Do you honestly think I'd know? Hell, I don't even know anyone who would know that."

" _Urgh, alright. Plan C it is,_ " Martha sighed, going quiet.

A quiet gasp from Abi alerted me that something was wrong "What is it?" I asked, looking over her shoulder.

She swallowed "Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me. _"_

" _What do you mean?_ " the Time Lord asked urgently.

"Well, Korwin's body is changing. His whole biological make-up. _"_ I whirled around when a noise caught my attention and froze for a moment. I thought Korwin was sedated but he was getting up… This was bad. I tilted my head and frowned. His heart was way slower than it should be "It's impossible."

I grabbed Abi's arm "We have to get out of here," I hissed at her, keeping my eyes on the man who was slowly walking closer.

" _Tyra? What's going on? Tell me,_ " the Doctor demanded.

"Urgent assistance requested," Abi breathed out shakily, her wide eyes glued to Korwin's form.

I shook my head "No time for this." When the man was starting to open his eyes, showing glowing gold, I wrapped my arm around the woman's waist, speeding out of the med-centre as fast as I could. A few corridors away, I slowed down a little "Engineering. Where is it again?" Abi didn't reply, staring at me "Abi. Where do we have to go?"

"T – This way," she stuttered, hurrying back the way that the Doctor and I had walked earlier. I recognized several doors and corridors but it was better to have someone lead me.

"Tyra," the Doctor called out from the other end of the corridor "What happened?"

I gestured over my shoulder "Honestly, I have no idea. But I think that Korwin is possessed by something. His eyes…"

The Time Lord tilted his head "What's wrong with his eyes?"

" _Burn with me,_ " a low, raspy voice echoed through the intercom.

McDonnell gasped, raising her hand to her mouth "Korwin." She turned to her crew member "Abi, what happened?"

Abi shook her head "His bio-scan results were… weird. I think Tyra might be right with the possession thing. His internal temperature was one hundred degrees, body oxygen replaced by hydrogen. Korwin wasn't infected. He was overwhelmed. Judging from the results he isn't human anymore or at least not completely."

" _Burn with me,_ " the voice rasped again.

The Doctor rubbed his hand over his face "It doesn't have to be possession… What else could it be, though? A parasite? A mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body."

"Stop talking about him like he's some kind of experiment," McDonnell snapped, rubbing Abi's arm gently.

"Where's this ship been?" the Time Lord questioned "Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any other vessel? Any kind of external contact at all?"

McDonnell gritted her teeth "What is this, an interrogation?"

I raised my eyebrow at her "You're kidding right? Whatever is inside Korwin or whatever happened to him… He almost killed us. If I hadn't been there, Abi would have probably died."

"W – What are you?" Abi questioned, looking up at me "I mean… How did you get us out?"

"Vampire," I shrugged "I'm a vampire." Scannell who had been standing closer to me before, took a few steps back. I glanced over at him "I don't bite, you know? At least not normally."

McDonnell inhaled sharply "I need to warn the crew." She walked over to another intercom terminal "Everybody, listen to me. Something has infected Korwin and we don't know where he is at the moment. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?"

" _Understood, Captain,_ " Ashton voiced his agreement.

"We need to get to the med-centre," the Doctor murmured, making his way back down the corridors "See if he's still there. Ty, can you hear anything at all?"

I closed my eyes for a moment "No, nothing. No heartbeat, no sound except for the five of us. I'm not positive though," I admitted "His heart was really slow earlier, so it might have stopped already."

Abi furrowed her brow "His heart was normal on the scan."

"It slowed as soon as he stood up, I think," I shrugged.

"So you can hear heartbeats from a distance?" Scannell questioned, glancing over at me from the corner of his eyes.

I nodded "Yeah. I can hear better, see better, smell better… Erm, basically all my senses are heightened."

The man shuddered "That would be a nightmare."

"It has its advantages," I pointed out "But yeah, occasionally it's more of a curse."

McDonnell looked back "You said that his heartbeat was too slow… Does that mean that his infection is permanent? Abi, is there a way to cure him?"

Abi licked her lips "I don't know."

"Abi? You know our backstory," the Captain pointed out "He kept me honest… I don't want any false hope."

The Doctor glanced over at the younger woman, seeing her struggle "From what I heard… Your husband is gone," he explained quietly "There's no way back, I'm sorry." When McDonnell just nodded, he sighed "Are you certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret? Because it's vital that you tell me."

"I know every inch of this ship," McDonnell replied "I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing."

"Then why is this thing so interested in you?" the Doctor frowned in confusion.

McDonnell sighed "I wish I knew." Just before we entered the med-centre, I listened again. Nothing. When the Doctor raised his eyebrow at me questioningly, I shook my head. As far as I could tell there was no one inside anymore. The Captain entered, looking around "He's gone."

" _Doctor, we're through to area seventeen,_ " Martha informed us.

The Doctor nodded "Keep going," he answered "You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines."

"What do we do now?" Scannell questioned "Do we go looking for Korwin?"

"I think it's better, yeah," the Time Lord murmured, looking over the test results on the monitor quickly.

McDonnell turned to Abi "Abi, can you go down and help Riley with the rest of the doors? I think having three people there isn't too bad of an idea. Especially since Korwin is around somewhere."

"Erm, yeah, sure," she shrugged "But wouldn't Scannell be better? I'm not good with self-defence."

"You're better than you think," the Captain told her with a small smile.

Abi nodded "Alright. They're in area sixteen, right?"

"That's what they said," Scannell said.

The woman looked at the Captain for another moment before jogging off. The Doctor dragged his eyes away from the screen, his face set in grim determination. I tilted my head "You alright?"

He hummed, wrapping and arm around my shoulder "I'm fine. I just don't understand where this thing is coming from. Whatever it is couldn't have come from nowhere. That isn't how this works."

"But if they say that nothing happened," I pointed out.

"That means that either they're lying." Here McDonnell huffed "Or they don't know."

I look at the Captain for a moment before leaning against the Time Lord a little more "I'm going with the latter one."

"Yeah," the Doctor trailed off, eyes going back to the screen.

" _Doctor,_ " Martha shouted panicking " _Doctor. We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock._ " The four of us froze, staring at the direction the voice was coming from for a moment before starting in the mention direction " _One of the crew's trying to jettison us. You've got to help us. Tell me you can stop it."_

McDonnell ran ahead of us, panting a little "Why is this happening?"

The Doctor reached out to stop her in what appeared to be a storage area "Stay here," he commanded, looking at them sternly "I mean it this time. Just start those engines." The Time Lord grabbed my hand, pulling me along.

Just before we were out of earshot, I heard McDonnell's breathy voice "It's picking off, one by one."

" _Jettison held,_ " I heard as soon as we were getting closer to area seventeen. Not even a moment later, the computer spoke again " _Jettison reactivated._ "

The Doctor skidded to a halt when he saw the figure by one of the keypads "That's enough," he growled, glaring at the figure "What do you want? Why this ship?" When no answer came, his voice got louder "Tell me."

Ashton looked over at us for a moment before putting his fist through the keypad. The computer's voice sounded again _"Jettison activated._ "

"Come on," the Doctor called out "Let's see you. I want to know what you really are."

Ashton stalked closer to us, stopping when he was nose to nose with the Doctor. He was just beginning to raise his hand to the visor when he doubled over in pain " _Airlock sealed._ " As soon as Ashton was standing again, he walked past the Doctor and me, back the way we just came form.

The Time Lord turned to the intercom urgently "McDonnell? Ashton's heading in your direction. He's been infected, just like Korwin."

" _Korwin's dead, Doctor,_ " Scannell's voice informed us.

The Doctor let out a breath before turning to look through one of the windows in the airlock door "I'm going to save you," he articulated to who I assumed was Martha "I'll save you. I'll save you."

I placed my hand on his arm and glanced out to see the pod floating towards the sun "How do we get her out?"

"Manual," the Doctor exclaimed, straightening up.

"What?" I frowned.

"Scannell," the Time Lord called out "I need a spacesuit in area seventeen now."

" _What for?_ "

The Doctor hissed under his breath "Just get down here."

" _Well, go on,_ " McDonnell urged.

Scannell hesitated " _Ashton's still out there._ "

McDonnell sighed " _I'll deal with him._ "

A few minutes later, Scannell hurried towards us with a spacesuit in his hands "What do you plan on doing?"

"I have to go out and get her back. It's the only way," the Doctor explained, grabbing the spacesuit.

I licked my lips uneasily. I really didn't want him to be the one going out. He might be a Time Lord but still… I hated the fact that he was constantly putting himself in danger and I knew that he wouldn't let me go if I asked him. There was only one possibility. I had to restrain him somehow and quick but I didn't like the idea of hitting him or knocking him out. I glanced around until my eyes landed on a side door that didn't seem to have an electric lock in favour of one of those spin wheel things. This could work. I shifted, looking back at the Doctor who was just about to step into the spacesuit. Now or never. I ran forward, dislodging the Time Lord's grip from the suit, speeding him to the door.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor demanded, fighting against my grip.

I slipped his sonic into my pocket, shoving him into the room, locking the door behind him. From the looks of it, the closet didn't have a way to get out from inside. Stupid design but it suited my purpose just right "I'm sorry," I whispered, placing my hand on the door for a moment. When he slammed his hand against it, I stepped back.

"Dammit, Tyra. Let me out," the Time Lord shouted.

Scannell was still standing in the space he had been in, gaping at me in surprise "What…? Why did you do that?"

"I can't let him go out there," I murmured, grabbing the suit "Actually, no. I won't let him go out there and he's too much of an idiot to let me go out. I…" I shook my head "It doesn't matter. I have to get out there."

Scannell looked at me "I can't let you do this."

"Why?"

"You want to open an airlock in-flight on a ship spinning into the sun," the man pointed out "No one can survive that."

I tilted my head "I can survive a whole lot more than you think. Hence why it's me doing this."

"It's suicide," Scannell exclaimed, looking over his shoulder at the door the Doctor was banging against "This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you." He looked at me for a moment, sighing at my determined expression "Do you even know what you're doing?"

I grimaced "Somewhat. The Doctor explained it earlier. Something about re-magnetising the pod."

The man sighed "There are four buttons where the pod was. Two of those you have to press. One blue and one green," he explained "Press both of those and pull the lever in the box a little to the right."

"I can do that," I nodded, holding the helmet tightly "Thanks."

"You have to hurry," he murmured "The farther away they're getting, the worse it gets for them."

"What changed your mind?" I asked before realization dawned on me "Abi."

Scannell nodded before pushing me towards the airlock door "Go, now."

I looked over my shoulder as I reached the outer airlock door. One press of the button next to it, caused unfiltered sunlight to stream in. I squinted, shivering as the burning heat washed over me. I gritted my teeth, climbing out, clutching the edge of the airlock as tightly as I could "Come on," I breathed, trying to ignore the pain that was flowing through my body "Come on…" I pressed the buttons Scannell had mentioned before looking for the box. It was just beyond, a tiny bit out of the reach of my arms. Well, crap.

" _Tyra, how're you doing?_ "

"I can't reach it," I panted, stretching as far as I could "It burns. Now I'm definitely glad that I didn't let him do this."

" _Come on,_ " Scannell urged " _Don't give up now. I know you can do it._ "

I bit the inside of my cheek harshly, reaching as far as I could "How mad is he?" I questioned, ripping the cover off the box. I let out the breath that I was holding, pulling the lever down with the rest of my strength.

" _From the shouting… Very. I'm so glad that I'm not you,"_ the man murmured.

"Funny," I remarked, pulling myself back into the airlock "This is the second time I heard this today. As the pod slowly returned to the dock, my eyes drifted past it to the sun. The moment my eyes caught sight of it, I gasped at the invasion in my mind "How?"

" _Close that airlock,_ " Scannell shouted " _Now. That pod's going to smash into her._ "

" _Stay here,_ " I heard McDonnell, her voice faint.

I stumbled backwards, hitting the button before pressing my eyes closed as the burning sensation threatened to overwhelm me. I fell to the floor, trying to contain the heat from the sun, not letting it out of my tight grip. With a desperate strength, I knocked off the helmet, crawling out of the airlock just as the pod docked.

"Are you alright?" Scannell questioned, helping to prop me against a wall "What happened?"

"Tyra," Martha exclaimed, falling to her knees next to me "Are you okay? Where's the Doctor?"

I glanced to my left, bright light shining from my eyes "Don't… Argh."

"Shit," Scannell cursed "The Doctor." He glanced to his two crew members "Abi, come help me with this."

I leaned my head back against the wall, grimacing at the effort it took to keep the sun contained. I flinched when I heard the Doctor's voice "Where is she?" he hissed. Not a minute later, his tone changed "Tyra? Ty, what's going on?"

"It's alive," I gasped out, opening my eyes for the shortest moment "The sun… It hurts."

"Damn," the Time Lord cursed, holding onto me "Riley, go with Scannell. Get through the rest of the doors. And get me McDonnell here."

I felt Martha's hand grasping mine tightly "I can't… hold it back… for much longer… Doctor."

The Doctor let out another curse before hands tilted my sweaty face-up. Despite of how hot I was, I was shivering. I was about to ask what was going on when I felt the Time Lord's lips seal over mine with urgency. His lips were familiar. Even if we hadn't actually kissed before, he occasionally pressed a small kiss to my forehead. This – This was different, though. I gasped into the kiss, my eyes opening of its own accord as the sun was being pulled out of me. The more it left me, the more narrow my world got until everything went black and I slumped to the ground.

**Third Person PoV**

The Doctor had his ear pressed against the door to the cupboard when he realized that there was no way out of here without help. He was silently steaming, thinking about all the ways he could hurt Tyra. Not that he would but the girl messed up. Badly. A small part of him was flattered that she didn't want him hurt badly enough to risk alienating him but it didn't help.

Outside the door, he could hear a muffled conversation that was getting closer hurriedly "Get me out," he called, hitting his hand against the door.

"Give me a second, Doctor," Scannell replied, opening the wheel with the help of Abi. He had been right. Tyra had indeed gotten the wheel stuck a little. It had needed more force than normal.

The Time Lord stumbled out of the storage room, eyes blazing at the man who had just allowed the Original to put herself in danger "Where is she?" he hissed. Scannell swallowed lightly, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to the girl leaning against the wall, practically covered in sweat and panting. The Doctor froze, his anger draining out of him as he hurried over "Tyra? Ty, what's going on?"

"It's alive," the girl gasped out, opening her eyes a tiny slit. Instead of her normal eye colour, they were a glowing white, almost blinding the people around her before she pressed them shut again "The sun… It hurts."

"Damn," the Time Lord cursed, holding onto her. This was bad. Very, very bad. Tyra looked like she was completely out of it by now, her body slowly going lax. No, don't stop fighting, the Doctor wanted to scream but he held back "Riley, go with Scannell. Get through the rest of the doors. And get me McDonnell here."

Martha reached out to grasp Tyra's hand tightly as the girl let out a low whimper "I can't… hold it back… for much longer… Doctor."

The Doctor let out another curse before hands reached to tilt the vampire's sweaty face-up. She was shivering despite the fact that her skin was practically burning hot. The Time Lord took a deep breath before he leaned forward, pressing his lips to Tyra's. While this wasn't the only way he could think of doing this but it seemed like a good idea at the time. He pulled the sun out of his… the Original in the same way he had pulled the Time Vortex out of Rose. It was more difficult because it seemed like the sun was struggling against his actions. The more he pulled, the more of Tyra's weight he was supporting before she finally slumped.

Almost as soon as Tyra slipped to the ground, the Doctor followed suit with a small groan. Ty hadn't been lying. The sun really did hurt in the way it burned through your body, trying to take over. He couldn't let it though, instead, he hurried to find out what was going on here. Why would the sun kill these people? No. He almost gasped as the answer was made clear. The Doctor could feel hands on his face "Doctor?"

He jerked away, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fight the sun forever "Stay away from me," he rasped.

"What happened?" McDonnell questioned, stopping in front of the group. The scene was confusing since she had been so focused on getting the doors open. Tyra was lying on the floor, out cold and the rest of them were crowded around the Doctor who had his eyes closed, a grimace on his face.

"It's your fault, Captain McDonnell," the Doctor groaned in pain "You mined that sun. Stripped its surface for cheap fuel. You should have scanned for life."

The Captain frowned down at the man "I don't understand," the woman admitted.

"That sun is alive. A living organism," the Time Lord explained as calmly as he was able to, internally fighting as hard as he could "They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel and now it's screaming."

"What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?" she asked, looking over at Martha.

She flinched back when the Doctor opened his eyes "Because it's living in me."

"Oh, my God."

"Humans," the Time Lord complained "You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry. You should have scanned."

McDonnell shook her head "It takes too long. We'd be caught. Fusion scoops are illegal."

After this, the Doctor dismissed the woman, thoroughly annoyed that she not only put her own crew in danger but Tyra and Martha as well. He could feel Tyra's presence close to his leg and turned his face to Martha "You've got to freeze me," he pleaded "Quickly."

"What?" Martha blinked, running her hand through the Time Lord's sweaty hair. She had checked over Tyra but it seemed like the other girl was just unconscious, trying to heal from whatever it was that the sun did to her. The Original shouldn't be out for much longer.

"Stasis chamber," the Doctor explained "You've got to take it below minus two hundred. Freeze it out of me." He stopped to inhale as much air as he could "Freeze it out of me. It'll use me to kill you if you don't. The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets." The Time Lord straightened with difficult, stumbling a little before his arms were grabbed by Martha and Abi "Med-centre. Quickly."

" _Impact in seven thirty._ "

**Tyra PoV**

I let out a shaky breath the moment I came to. It took me a few moments to remember what happened before I shot up in alarm. The Doctor. He had taken the sun out of me? I looked around urgently, not seeing him anywhere.

"Tyra," a voice called from further down "Are you alright?"

"Martha," I breathed in relief, letting the medical student pull me up gently "Where's the Doctor?"

Martha pointed behind her "We had to try and freeze him in the med-centre. He told me to leave, though." I didn't wait for more, sprinting off to where the Time Lord was "Ty, don't."

" _Impact in four oh eight._ "

I stumbled into the med-centre, seeing the Doctor half inside the stasis chamber "Doc," I breathed, going over to run my hand over his half-frozen face "I'm sorry." This was what I had been trying to stop. I wouldn't have cared if the sun killed me. As long as it wasn't him.

"Ty," he gasped, turning his head into my hand "Get out of here. I can't… I…"

"I'm not leaving," I told him softly "Please, you have to fight it. I know it's hard… Very hard actually but you're stronger than me."

The Doctor's hand shot up, grabbing onto my arm tightly "Don't… Say that… Ever again."

"What?" I frowned.

"You're not weak," he shot back, arching off the table with a shout "I… I can't fight it." I took a couple of steps back when his eyes opened and his voice changed "Give it back or burn with me." His head turned to me "Burn with me."

" _Impact in one twenty-one,_ " the computer announced as I scrambled away from the Time Lord, my back hitting the wall " _Life support systems reaching critical. Repeat. Life support systems reaching critical. Impact on one oh six._ "

The Doctor was getting closer and closer. I might have been able to run but… Why should I? This was my fault. My fault that he was taken over instead of me. I tried to protect him and messed it up even more…

" _Collision alert. Collision alert. Fifty-eight seconds to fatal impact._ "

I was pressing my back against the wall, completely flattening myself as the Time Lord slash sun reached out to me "Burn with me," he rasped.

" _Fuel dump in progress. Fuel dump in progress._ "

As soon as those words let the computer, the lights went out in the Doctor's eyes and he slumped, practically landing on top of me. I gasped, my hand going to his face automatically "Doctor," I breathed, burying my face in his hair.

" _Impact averted. Impact averted._ "

"Are you alright?" I asked carefully, feeling the Doctor's movement.

The Time Lord turned his head to look at me and I flinched from what I saw. Now that it was all over, the anger and disappointment were returning full force and I just knew that this would end badly for me… Before he could start talking though, Martha ran in, throwing herself at both of us "Doctor. Tyra. You're okay." If we hadn't been on the floor, we probably would have been by now.

On the way to area thirty where the Tardis was waiting for us in a now cold room, the Doctor didn't talk at all, preferring to steam silently.

Martha placed her hand on my arm, squeezing it gently "It's going to be alright," she whispered "He's just mad."

I shrugged "I know. I messed up but… I couldn't let him get hurt," I muttered, wrapping one of my arms around my stomach.

A little while later, the Doctor, Martha and I were standing in front of the Tardis with the three of the remaining crew standing in front of us, looking at the Tardis in surprise "This is never your ship," Scannell murmured, blinking at the blue box owlishly.

"Compact, eh?" the Time Lord grinned, his hand going to the back of my neck. I froze for a moment before relaxing again "And another good word, robust. Barely a scorch mark on her."

Martha looked at Riley, Scannell and Abi "We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel."

"We sent out an official mayday," Riley replied with a small smiled. He really seemed taken with Martha. It was nice to see the medical student get some attention as well "The authorities will pick us up soon enough."

Scannell hesitated, wrapping his arm around Abi's waist "Though how we explain what happened…"

"Just tell them what happened," the Doctor murmured "That sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing." His grip on my neck tightened, turning to pull me into the Tardis with him.

I glanced over my shoulder, throwing them a wave "It was nice to meet you," I called, almost stumbling over the doorway when it came sooner than expected.

As soon as the two of us were inside and by the console, the Doctor turned to me, a hard look in his eyes "I'd say that we need to talk but to be honest… I'm too pissed off to not shout right now."

I looked at him for a moment before lowering my head with a small nod "I'll just…" I gestured to the corridor "You know where to find me." Just before I left, I turned back, my voice soft "I really am sorry."

**Third Person PoV**

The Doctor closed his eyes when he caught Tyra's quiet words. He knew that she was sorry… He knew that he shouldn't be this mad at her. It wasn't like he wouldn't have done something similar if it would have worked. That didn't mean that Tyra didn't mess up. Although – He probably would have ended up possessed anyway. This way, he just managed to get a kiss from the girl he was in love with. Speaking of the kiss… Another thing for them to talk about.

"So," Martha entered, her tone turning into teasing "Didn't really need you in the end, did we?" At the Time Lord's look, she winced "Sorry. How are you… Where's Tyra?"

"Around," the Doctor murmured, his hand going to his pocket.

Before he could get out the Tardis key, Martha started glaring at him "You can't seriously be this stubborn. Just get your head out of your ass and go talk to her. I might not have known you for too long but she blames herself, Doctor."

"What?" he breathed. He had known that Tyra seemed a bit more subdued but not that she was blaming herself for what happened. It wasn't her fault. He chose to take the sun out of her.

"How can you be so freaking blind?" Martha groaned "I swear… Go and talk to her. If you won't, I will."

The Doctor sank onto the jump seat, pulling out the key "Before I forget. Here. You'll need this."

Martha's face lit up "Really?" she asked, taking the key from his hands, looking down at it almost reverently.

"Frequent flier's privilege," the Time Lord shrugged "And for… Well, you know."

Martha was about to say something when a thought crossed her mind "Oh, no… Mum." She hurried off to her room to call her mother in private, leaving the Doctor to his thoughts.

The Doctor looked after her with a small, exasperated smile. He shook his head, making his way to the console to lock the Tardis in the Vortex for a few hours, allow them to rest without drifting off into the depths of the universe.

As soon as he finished, he yelped, taking a step back "What?" he hissed, shaking his hand in annoyance. Another spark from the console made him duck away "Will you stop that?"

The Tardis let out an angry hum, sending him an image of Tyra. The sight made his heart drop. He whirled around, stalking through the corridors to find his vampire.

**Tyra PoV**

After the incident in the console room, I had withdrawn to my sanctuary. Instead of going to the Pavilion, I walked further than before, huddling again a huge tree that seemed to shift, hiding me with its leaves.

As soon as I had left the room, fear had started to bloom in the pit of my stomach. What if he threw me out now? What if I had to go back to my life from before? I didn't think that I would be able to survive. In the past three years, I had gotten so close to the Doctor that I couldn't even think of going back to how it was before. The Tardis was my home.

Tears started to flow out of my eyes against my will at the thought of the Tardis. It might sound stupid but the Tardis was as good as a mother to me. She knew when I was feeling bad and tried to cheer me up whenever she could.

A warm hum echoed through my mind, a branch stroked over the top of my head. Huh, seemed like the Tardis controlled everything. Literally everything. Well, it did make sense.

"I'm sorry," I pleaded. Leaning my head again the bark of the trunk of the tree "I didn't mean to make him mad."

The Tardis let out an angry huff but I had a feeling that it wasn't directed at me.

"You mean that it's not my fault?" I frowned, rubbing one hand over my eyes, trying to get rid of the evidence of my earlier crying.

"Tyra?"

I whirled around in shock at hearing the voice from outside of my tree cocoon. How didn't I hear him coming? "Yeah."

The Doctor raised his hand and made to enter the waterfall of leaves when one of the branches twitched hitting him over the head. He let out a groan and glared up at the sky "Again? Can you stop?"

I patted the trunk of the tree, a small grin stealing its way across my face "It's alright. You can let him in, you know."

"Thanks," the Time Lord murmured when he was standing in front of me. He shuffled uncomfortably, biting at his lip.

"I didn't…"

He shook his head "Don't. I am the one who should apologize, Ty." I froze, looking up at him "I can't act like I wouldn't have done the same thing. Hell, I did the same thing before. I am a hypocrite for getting mad at you."

I licked my lips, lowering my eyes "I don't like you running into these situations. I – I'm less likely to die."

"That doesn't mean that I like seeing you hurt any more than the other way around," the Doctor pointed out, raising his hand to my cheek "There's something else we need to talk about... Do you remember what happened before you passed out?"

I froze internally. No... I didn't – couldn't talk to him about that. Not now. Maybe I was a coward but I just couldn't "No," I shook my head, lying through my teeth "The last thing I remember is coming back inside the airlock. Why?"

"Ah, never mind," the Doctor whispered, an expression of disappointment washing over his face. Whether that was because he knew I was lying or he was disappointed that I didn't remember, I wasn't sure. He really did like me, didn't he... It took a few more minutes before he schooled his features "Now that that's out of the way. I have the perfect trip to make up for being an ass."

"Hm," a smile hushed over my face "How extravagant is that going to be?"

"You'll see," he nodded "But sleep first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so one thing before I'm out for now...
> 
> About the Episode 'Blink'. My friend and I were thinking about doing 'Blink' after the Pompeii Episode with Donna instead of with Martha. What do you think about it? There are some things that would make it fit there surprisingly well but I wanted to hear your opinion on it as well.
> 
> Nick


	24. Human Nature

**So, the format of this chapter is a bit different than all the others since I didn't really think those scenes would blend well into each other, so the chapter consists of different scenes set before and in the Episode. It won't happen often at all but I think there might be one other chapter that will be similar to this.**

**Enjoy,**

**Nick**

"That's what you call a perfect trip?" I called over the sound of the other two's breathing.

"That's not my fault. Get down," the Doctor shouted as we hurried into the Tardis. He slammed the doors shut behind us, whirling around "Did they see you? Either of you?"

Martha shook her head "I don't know," she admitted.

"But did they see you? Tyra?"

I shook my head. Well, the trip was extravagant for sure… Probably not quite in the way the Doctor had planned but then again… Our trips rarely were. A part of me had hoped that he would finally take me to Barcelona. Oh, well… "No. I don't think they did. They couldn't have. Neither Martha nor I looked back."

The Doctor nodded in relief "Off we go, then." He set the Tardis in motion before letting out a curse as a sound came from the monitor "Argh… They're following us."

"How can they do that?" the medical student demanded "You've got a time machine."

"Stolen technology," the Time Lord pointed out "They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe. They're never going to stop, unless…" He straightened up, face set determinedly "I'll have to do it. Martha, Ty, you trust me, don't you?"

I looked into his eyes seriously "What are you doing to do?"

"This all depends on the two of you, alright?"

"What does?" Martha frowned "What are we supposed to do?"

The Doctor held out an ornately decorated pocket watch to me "Take this watch. My life depends on this. This watch, Ty, Martha… The watch is me."

"Right, okay," the other girl nodded "Gotcha." She blinked a couple of times before sending him a sheepish grin "No, hold on. Completely lost."

I looked at the watch "Is that the… what's it called? The thing that turns you into any species you want?"

"Sort of," he nodded "It's not the watch that does it but that's where I'm going to be stored. Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone and me being a Time Lord, well, I'm unique… They can track me down across the whole of time and space."

Martha grumbled "Huh. And the good news is…?"

"They can smell me," the Time Lord explained "They haven't seen me. And their life span'll be running out, so we hide. Wait for them to die."

Martha tilted her head "But they can track us down."

"That's why he's going to turn himself into a human," I told her quietly as a headset lowered itself from the ceiling "I have no idea how it works but as long as it does… I'm not going to complain."

Martha nodded "Wait, what do we have to do? As in, Tyra and I?"

"I invented a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me. The Tardis already took care of everything. Can't do the same for the two of you, though. You'll have to improvise. Or Tyra can compel you what you need. I should have just enough residual awareness to not abandon you."

"But hold on," Martha stopped him "If you're going to rewrite every single cell… Isn't it going to hurt?"

The Doctor bit his lip "Oh, yeah. It hurts." I turned away as he started screaming, a grimace on my face. I hated to see him in pain, especially pain that seemed excruciating.

* * *

The Tardis had landed in a time where I had still been in America for which I was grateful. She had chosen a small private school in a small village. The perfect hiding place, I'd say.

Surprisingly, it had only taken a tiny little bit of compulsion for the Headmaster to agree to let me join his teaching staff as the German teacher. The compulsion had only been necessary because… Well, I was a woman and he hadn't been too keen on having a woman teach in an all-boys school. But since I was fluent in German and he was short a teacher. He had left a few weeks before the Tardis landed, causing the Headmaster to be a teacher short.

"That would be all then, Miss…" He looked over the paperwork "Mikaelson. A maid will show you to your quarters and I expect you to be there at the teacher's meeting tomorrow morning. I will also hand you your schedule then. Yourself and another new teacher will be introduced to the rest of the staff in this meeting and it will be explained how to handle the students and more about your responsibilities."

I inclined my head, playing up my proper upbringing "Yes, sir. I am thankful for this opportunity."

"I expect you to act as a teacher first," the man warned.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, my eyes narrowing on him.

He gestured to me "Well, obviously this is an all-boys school…"

I cut him off "I do not like what you're implying, sir. I am nothing if not professional when it comes to my students."

"Right, right," he murmured, looking a little flustered.

I internally rolled my eyes at the blatant sexism he showed but simply waved my hand at the door "If that was all, sir? I have unpacking and some organizing to do."

The Headmaster nodded "Of course, Miss Mikaelson. A maid is waiting outside to take you."

"Thank you," I nodded, making my way out of the room. A small smile flitted over my face when I saw that the maid in question was none other than the medical student. Technically, Martha was known as John Smith's maid who came with him to the school but she seemed to have taken over several other duties in the week she had already been here. The two of us decided that it would be too suspicious to have the Doctor – or John as he was called now – arrive at the same time as me, so I offered to wait for another week before joining the two.

"And?" Martha asked curiously.

I grinned "Well, I have the job. Which you know. I really shouldn't be surprised at how sexist that guy is being." I ran a hand through my hair and sighed "Modern times make it easy to forget that there's still a lot of that going around."

"Did you have to deal with sexism a lot when you were… You know?" the medical student questioned.

I shook my head "My status made me…" Here I couldn't help from sounding mocking "A valuable member of the society. Even though I was female."

Martha hummed "I do believe I'd rather be back with Will than here." She looked down at her hands, leading me through the corridors "The way these boys treat the maids here is… I have never seen such prejudice before. To think that they will have to fight…"

"Not here," I cut her off "I guess I'll see how I'm treated as a teacher… Not that I will take anything from them. Not like…" I groaned, shaking my head.

"Like what?" Martha stopped at a door that had my name on a plaque that read 'German teacher' underneath, opening it for me.

I walked in, closing the door behind the other girl "Rose," I mumbled "I told you some of it but not nearly everything. I was more than patient with her and I really, really don't think I have any patience left. At least not for people who treat me like absolute crap. If those boys think they're better than me then I will set them straight."

"That's a good thing, though, isn't it?" the medical student tilted her head "I mean, they should learn to respect people even if they're women. I just have one question… How do you plan on doing that?"

A mischievous smile crawled onto my lips "Oh, I have something planned."

"Ty," Martha whined, falling down on the sofa ungracefully "Tell me."

"Well, I never liked throwing around my title much but then again… I did know the queen. And the current King is a close friend – Or rather… He was when he was a child." I hummed thoughtfully "I really should go and visit him someday. Queen Victoria told me that he would like to see me again."

Martha looked up "When did you see her? It sounds like you saw her recently."

"Oh, I did. The Doctor messed up," I snorted, causing Martha to roll her eyes "He wanted to take Rose and me to an Ian Drury concert in 1979 and we ended up a century earlier in Scotland. Let's just say that the Queen found out that there are aliens after that."

"Oh God," the medical student laughed "What did he do?"

I rubbed my forehead "You don't want to know," I told her "Or… actually, maybe you do. He got banished. Victoria knighted him and Rose and then banished them. All in the space of half an hour."

"That has to be a new record," Martha remarked before standing up with a small sigh "Anyway, I have to get back to work before I get into trouble. Have fun unpacking."

"Unpacking is the lesser of two evils," I grumbled "I have to think about a way to teach those kids German."

The other girl paused at the door "Why not do it in stories?" she offered "I mean, you have so many good stories to offer and maybe that would motivate them to learn."

"Maybe," I hummed thoughtfully. That actually sounded like a good idea. I could somehow work those stories into the material and make them harder, depending on the boys' levels… "I'll think about it. Thanks, Martha. I'll see you around."

* * *

The morning of my first class, I woke up relatively early. Even if I didn't care too much about the whole teaching thing, I knew that I would have to work it for at very least three months, so I spent the entire weekend and the week prior that I had off on my lesson plan. The Headmaster had given both the Doctor and me a rough outline of what the previous teachers had taught and what he wanted us to go through. Since German was a third language for the kids after English and Latin, it wasn't too hard. Mostly just easy Grammar and vocabulary for the lower years and reading or story telling for the upper years.

One of the other teachers had told me that there were already rumours going around about the new – good-looking – female teacher. I couldn't help but groan at that. I had enough problems with the Headmaster already – or I would have had problems, hadn't I compelled him again – without adding the fact that the boys thought that I looked good. Well, I'd just have to see what happened during class.

When the bell rang, signalling the first lesson of that Monday morning, I walked into the classroom where the boys were already waiting for me "Good morning," I nodded to them, putting a few pieces of paper onto the table. They weren't too important, only holding a few notes along with the lists of names for my classes of that day.

"Good morning, Miss," the boys chorused.

I let my eyes wander over the group curiously, taking in the different faces "Well, since this is your first class with me, I'm going to tell you a little about me first. Then, I would like you to say your names and what you like about the German language." When none of them looked too excited, I grinned a little "I understand that you might not be too… enthusiastic about learning yet another language but maybe I can make it a little more fun for you. My name is Tyra Mikaelson. I'm twenty and have been learning German for – way too long now that I think about it."

The boys told me what I wanted to know one after the other with me marking down the names, trying to remember the faces belonging to the names. None of them seemed too happy with this class in general or impressed with me but then again. It was only the first class, so I still had time.

"Thank you," I murmured when they were all done "Alright, now… About me being your teacher for the remainder of the year. It might be a little different from what you're used to but I know that learning a language isn't done by hearing lecture after lecture about grammar. From what I heard from the Headmaster your class already has a relatively good base, so we're going to try something a little… harder. I thought about several stories. You're going to have to decide which details are correct and which are lies. For that, you'll have to translate what I'm telling you. Now, for the beginning, I'm still going to be mixing German and English but the further we go into the school year, the harder it will get. Understood?" One of the boys in the back raised his hand "Thomas?"

"How many languages do you know?"

I tilted my head thoughtfully "I – Actually don't know. I can speak quite a few and I tried out different ways of learning them. Anyone else?" When no one else raised their hands, I clapped my hands, jumping onto my desk in a fluent move "Now, then. Let's start. I have a short little story for you today. Nothing too bad and I will translate as I go along but this is a one-time thing."

I shuffled through the papers, glancing down at my notes for the shortest of moments "Okay, so… Ich weiß nicht, ob ihr mir glauben werdet. I'm unsure whether or not you're going to believe me but I was actually quite close to the late Queen Victora. Aber ich war sehr eng mit Königin Victoria befreundet." With that I talked a little more about the woman and her husband, answering the boys' questions when they asked them – some actually attempted to ask them in German.

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty good first class. Now all I hoped for was that they would keep trying.

* * *

About a month and a half into their stay in 1913, everything seemed alright. The boys were still making an effort in my class. From what I have seen, their grades had improved to an extent from where they had been with the former teacher, so I considered it a win. After Elijah's boring teaching methods, I had developed a method that would not only sneakily teach someone something but also make it seem like less.

In the time I had been here, I mostly stayed out of the Doctor's – or rather John Smith's – way. The kiss was still fresh in my mind and I wasn't sure whether I could face the man who wouldn't be able to remember me. Not in the way I would like it, though. How Martha managed, I didn't know. I always made time to speak to the other girl whenever I saw her around, so she at least had someone to talk to about her frustrations.

I walked through the corridors on my way back to my classroom. Most of the students and teachers were in class, while I had a free period. Normally, I spent said free period in my room or the library but I had been feeling restless for a little while, so I had decided to walk around. When a familiar voice reached my ears, I froze. I had completely forgotten that John Smith's classroom was on the way back to my classroom. Usually, the door was closed but today, it was standing open, leaving me with the view of the man the Doctor had been.

I arrived just at the tail end of a lecture, deciding to lean against the opposite wall and out of view from the people in the room for now. John cleared his throat, putting down the book he was holding "If you have listened to the lecture like I hope you did, you'll be able to answer this question. When did Queen Mary of Scotland die and how?" Silence followed his question as several of the boys shuffled in their seats. The lesson was almost done and they probably couldn't wait to escape the boring History classroom "Well? No one?"

"February 8th, 1587," I spoke up, leaning against the doorway. The human Time Lord's head snapped to the side, looking at me with surprise. Not that I could blame him. We had barely interacted since starting to teach "She was beheaded for treason by Queen Elizabeth I."

"Correct." The bell rang, causing the boys to gather their things quickly, not giving John a chance to give them any homework. A few of them shot me small smiles as they made their way past me. When the last one was gone, I turned to make my way back to my classroom when I heard John's steps following me quickly "Miss Mikaelson?"

I stopped, turning to look at the man with my head tilted to the side "Yes?"

"How did you know?" the human Doctor asked, his voice making his confusion obvious "The answer, I mean. I didn't think…"

"That I'd be interested in History?" I finished for him "I am. Not only because of my… my ancestor's journals. History is something that is very… important to me and my family." I looked over my shoulder and down the corridor "If you would excuse me, now? I have a class to teach."

John took a step back, nodding his head "Yes, yes. Of course." Before he turned around, he hesitated "Would you – No, I apologize."

"Would I what?" I questioned.

"Would you like to talk sometime?" the man swallowed "I mean, there are a few… I would love to hear… I would like to see those journals you mentioned. Do you have them with you?"

I let out a small laugh at his stuttering "I would like that, Mr Smith. And yes, I do have several with me. I don't go anywhere without them much. Apologies, but I really have to go now."

"Of course."

* * *

I bit my lip, glancing down at the journals I had grabbed from the Tardis earlier today. Ever since a few months ago, shortly after Rose had been trapped in the parallel universe, I had started storing my journals and some of my brothers' in my room. The Doctor had wanted to see them and since the Tardis was one of the safest places, I just grabbed them all.

"Come in," John called in response to my quiet knock "Ah, Miss Mikaelson." The man smiled nervously, shuffling a bit closer to me when I entered the room. When he just stopped a little in front of me, I shifted a little hesitantly. Now that I was here, I had no idea what to do or say. John seemed to realize that he should probably say something else and gestured to the couches "Please."

I sat down, placing the two journals next to me. One was mine and the other was Elijah's. I only grabbed both of them, since his started earlier and accounted for a few things that I only found out through Finn.

"Are these the journals?" he questioned, peaking at them with thinly veiled curiosity.

"Yes," I nodded, caressing the spine of mine gently "They were written by two of my ancestors and passed down in the family. This one specifically…" I picked up the one with the blue cover "Was written by the woman I was named after, while the other is from her older brother."

John hummed "And they lived… when and where? I seem to have forgotten."

"America," I replied, internally laughing at his sheepish expression. It was so like the Doctor and one of the things I loved about him. There were many things and I wasn't sure whether I liked the fact that John did have traits of the Doctor. Maybe if the Time Lord had explained… I wasn't sure whether he would remember or what happened to John Smith once he opened the watch. Speaking of watch… I looked around conspicuously until I spotted a flash of gold on the mantle piece "In the 10th century. Their family travelled to the New World from what is Norway today while my ancestor's mother was pregnant with the person who wrote this journal." The black one.

"So…" he trailed off in confusion "I always thought that the Native Americans were the… Well, natives in America."

I shook my head "Many people do. Because they ignore the evidence. The Vikings were the first people to travel from the Old World to the New." I held out the journal "You're welcome to read them… As long as you're careful. These are really old. One of my other ancestors rewrote them when they started falling apart but I don't really wish to do the same thing, you know?"

"Of course, of course," John nodded eagerly "Oh, there's something I wanted to show you. I – I have been journaling myself a little…" He carefully placed the two journal I had given him onto his bedside table and grabbed another, handing it over "It's more of a – a dream journal, I guess you could say."

I dropped my eyes to the small book and flipped it open. What I saw written there, almost made me drop the thing. The Doctor – John Smith had written about some of our adventures, sketching Daleks, Cybermen and other species we had encountered. I stopped at the page that held the Doctor's past regenerations, trailing my finger over the sketches "Who are they?" I asked, hoping that my voice sounded normal.

John sat down next to me, pointing them out, explaining what he had written and how he had dreamed of being this adventurer and how I appeared in his dreams as well "Here. This character – Rose, her name is – she disappears over time but you – I mean, Tyra here, is a constant. She has been there as long as Rose has and longer."

"Curious," I murmured "And you dream of travelling through space and time?" A picture of the Tardis, made me tap it "In this?"

"Exactly," he nodded "It's nothing but imagination but… I think you might be interested. I heard about your teaching methods." John sent me an amused smile "Makes the rest of us teachers look bad."

I let out a laugh "Well, I apologize for that. The method has proven itself and the boys seem to pick everything up amazingly well."

"They have a good teacher, then," the man complimented with a grin. Was it me or did he become more confident in this last hour we had been together in this room? Before, John had been… a bit curious, constantly lost in thoughts but now he was acting even more like the Doctor.

I groaned in embarrassment when he nudged me lightly and buried my face in my hands "Stop, please."

* * *

I was leaning against the wall opposite of where Martha and one of her fellow maids – Jenny were scrubbing the floor. The other girl looked up "So…"

"So?" I repeated, a teasing smile on my face. She had been hounding me for a while about an incident in my past. In the past while, we had been talking more and more about family even if I had been reluctant at first. Martha was missing her family, so the least I could do was to trust her with some information about my past. After all, she had met Kol and not run for the hills. That had to count for something, right?

"Oh, come on," Martha huffed, causing Jenny to look over at her with wide eyes. It had always been a bit of a wonder for the other maids when they witnessed out less than formal interactions. I didn't mind, though. The day I acted like I had to – when it comes to my station – towards one of the people I considered friends was the day I would voluntarily wake up Mikael. That would never happen. Ever "You promised."

I smirked "Did I?"

"Ty," Martha groaned quietly. Before I could say anything else, John walked along the tiled corridor past the three of us, his head once again stuck in the clouds. It had been fascinating to see just how different John was from the Doctor. It was almost like there was nothing of the Doctor in John Smith but that was a lie. Even if he was human, John still reminded me of the Time Lord "Morning, sir," the medical student greeted, startling the man.

"Yes, hi," John mumbled, walking up the stairs. His eyes drifted towards me and when he saw my amused expression, he missed one of the steps. John tripped, almost falling onto his face. The flush caused me to stifle my laughter as he hurried off.

I shook my head, turning back to Martha "I'll never get used to that."

"Head in the clouds, that one," Jenny sighed, turning back to scrubbing the floor "He seems different around you, Miss Mikaelson."

"I told you to call me Tyra, Jenny," I pointed out.

The maid shook her head "It's not proper."

I rolled my eyes "Propriety is overrated." I ran a hand through my hair "Anyway, I have papers to grade, so… I'll see you later, Martha."

"Sure," the other girl nodded "I'll be up when I'm done."

I nodded my head, making my way up the stairs. I froze, though, when I heard two of my more… troubled students came down the hall, talking loudly. Martha and Jenny were joking around when the two boys came into view. Baines stopped, eyeing them in disdain "Er, now then, you two. You're not paid to have fun, are you? Put a little backbone into it."

"Yes, sir," Jenny breathed "Sorry, sir."

"You there," Hutchinson spoke up, smirking at Martha "What's your name again?"

I watched as Martha looked up, a hint of defiance in her eyes "Martha, sir. Martha Jones."

"Tell me then, Jones. With hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean?" the boy laughed.

"Hutchinson," I called sharply, causing the two boys to freeze "Baines. Detention with me tomorrow."

The boys looked at each other before looking to the ground "Yes, Miss."

"Don't you have anything else to say?" I asked, crossing my arms. If there was one thing I didn't stand for, it was prejudice. The boys knew it, everyone knew it. I hadn't made a secret out of handing out detention for treating the maids badly. It might have been common practice in this time but those boys would head to war. If they couldn't respect women for what they were, then there was no hope. Especially, boys as entitled as those two.

"Apologies," Hutchinson mumbled, glancing at Martha.

I rolled my eyes at him when he made it seem like the hardest thing he ever did and continued on my way up "Don't let me catch you again."

Just before I disappeared around a corner, I heard Jenny's voice "I do rather like her," she laughed quietly.

* * *

"Ty," Martha called out from down the hall "Ty, you have to come quickly."

I turned around, practically catching the medical student who barrelled into me "Martha, calm down. What happened?"

"The Doctor," Martha panted "Some of the boys just told me."

"Martha, what happened?" I sighed, trying to get the girl to get to the point "And shouldn't you be used to calling him John Smith by now? I mean… You never know who is listening."

"He fell down the stairs," the other girl said.

My grip on Martha's arm tightened "How in the world did he manage that?"

"Never mind that," she snapped lightly, tugging at my arm "Come on."

I followed her, getting out of her grip a little before the man's room. And a good thing too, because Martha decided to do a modern entrance and just burst in "Is he alright?" she asked as I leaned against the open doorway, seeing the school's nurse tending to John's injuries. There was barely any blood, so bruises were most likely the worst the man got.

"Excuse me, Martha," Joan huffed, not having noticed me in the doorway "It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking."

Martha nodded, hiding her annoyance "Sorry. Right. Yeah." She whirled around, going back to the door. I let out an amused snort, stepping into the room as the other girl closed the door for a moment, knocked and then reentered "But is he alright? They said you fell down the stairs, sir."

"No, it was just a tumble, that's all," he waved off before catching my eye "Ms Tyra." I rolled my eyes at the formal-ish greeting. Really, we had been talking more and more these past few weeks and I had told him that he should just call me Tyra. So far 'Ms Tyra' was the closest he had gotten. I didn't mind too much, though. It was sort of cute how he acted around me.

"John," I greeted "How about that head then?"

"My head is fine," he sighed and hissed when Matron Redfern pressed a piece of gauze to the small wound.

I raised my eyebrow "Yeah? I can see that."

"Have you checked for a concussion?" Martha asked, watching the nurse attentively.

Joan shot a glare at the other girl "I have," she said "And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you."

"Martha," I called out warningly, placing my hand on her arm when it looked like she wanted to say something less than flattering.

"Sorry," she exhaled loudly "I'll – I'll just tidy your things."

I looked at the other three people in the room before taking a few small steps back "I'll just be going then."

"Wait," John called out "I was – I was just telling Nurse Redfern – Matron – about my dreams. I have added quite a few more since you've last seen my journal. They are quite remarkable tales, aren't they?"

I sighed internally and made my way towards the chair John was sitting in and gestured to the sofa "Do you mind?"

"No, no, be my guest," he nodded before going back to what he was saying before "I keep imagining that I'm someone else and that I'm hiding."

"Hiding?" Joan repeated "In what way?"

John leaned back with a sigh "They're almost every night. This is going to sound silly."

"I think I heard worse before," I told him, exchanging a mischievous grin with Martha who rolled her eyes at me.

"I dream," the man murmured "Quite often, that I have two hearts."

Oh, I could only wish. Despite my having lied to the Doctor about not remembering the kiss, I had regretted it almost instantly. I knew that it wasn't fair to keep my feelings from him when he felt the same. And yes, I had actually noticed that he felt the same way after getting a couple of pushes in the right direction. What I didn't know, however, was for how long he had been… Not in love… I didn't like that term. After I had seen what love did to people, I was extremely uncomfortable with the thought alone. Although, maybe the Doctor would be able to change that in time. I just had to gather my courage and fess up… And I would. Some day.

"Well, then," Joan shrugged "I can be the judge of that. Let's find out." She grabbed her stethoscope and used it to listen to the human Doctor's chest "I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart, singular."

John licked his lips as if debating on whether to admit about the next part to a new person "I have – er – I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction. Not that it would be of any interest." Before anyone could tell him differently, he continued "Oh, I also wanted to give you these back." He handed me my journals with a thankful smile "They were very interesting indeed. Although, I wish they could have had a better life. I just have one question, though."

"Go on," I nodded, putting the journals to the side.

"Both of the journals cut off at roughly the same time. What happened after – after the boy, Henrik died?" John asked.

I stiffened. Really, I should have thought of that. Both Elijah and I had stopped documenting things that happened in our first years as vampires. Not only because I had gotten daggered but because of the struggle it had been to get used to everything "Nothing is documented for a few years after that," I told him, clenching my hand in the fabric of my pants "The journals pick back up in the 13th century."

"Who is Henrik?" Joan asked "What are those journals?"

I shot her a look "Family heirlooms," I muttered, picking them back up "Now, if you'll excuse me? I have some papers to grade which I should have done already."

"Ty," Martha called before I was out the door, ignoring the admonishing looks from the other two "Are we still on for later?"

"Sure," I nodded, smiling lightly "Just come and get me when you're ready to leave."

* * *

That same evening, I was standing outside the village pub with Jenny, waiting for Martha to return with their drinks. I wasn't feeling much like alcohol today, so I just went along with the two, keeping them company.

"Oh, it's freezing out here," Martha groaned, handing over one of the pints to the other maid "Why can't we have a drink inside the pub?"

Jenny let out an incredulous laugh "Now, don't be ridiculous. You do get these notions." She shook her head "Both of you do. It's all very well, those Suffragettes. But that's London. That's miles away."

"But don't you just want to scream sometimes, having to bow and scrape and behave. Don't you just want to tell them?" Martha asked.

Jenny rolled her eyes "I don't know. Things must be different in your country."

"Yeah, well they are," Martha proclaimed "Thank God, I'm not staying."

"You keep saying that," Jenny murmured.

The other girl put down her drink "Just you wait," she said "One more month and I'm as free as the wind. I wish you could come with us, Jenny. You'd love it."

Jenny tilted her head "Where are you going to go? And who is 'we'?"

"Me," I cut in "Martha and I are thinking about leaving in a little while."

"Leave? Leave where?" Jenny repeated.

"Anywhere," Martha sighed dreamily, looking up at the night sky "Just look up there. Imagine you could go all the way out to the stars."

The maid let out an undignified snort, almost spilling her beer "You don't half say mad things."

"That's where I'm going," Martha grumbled "Into the sky, all the way out."

I grabbed her arm and leaned over "I know that you like her but… Don't you think you're telling her too much?" I hissed quietly as Jenny was distracted by a group of people walking past them.

A green flash lit up the sky for the shortest of moments, causing Martha to gasp "Did you see that?"

"See what?" Jenny frowned. I just nodded, looking at the sky in trepidation. That hadn't been a normal light. Not even a normal meteorite. They usually weren't green as far as I was aware.

Martha pointed upwards "Did you see it, though? Right up there, just for a second."

"Martha, there's nothing there," Jenny soothed.

I shook my head "I saw it too." I looked over my shoulder when I heard heavy footsteps running in our direction.

"Matron," Martha asked, seeing the panicked look on the other woman's face "Are you alright?"

The woman shook her head, taking deep breaths "Did you see that? There was something in the woods. This light."

Before Martha or I could even open our mouths, the human Doctor popped up almost out of nowhere "Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you…"

"There," Joan called out "There. Look in the sky."

The same light as before crossed the sky and Jenny let out an amazed sigh "Oh, that's beautiful."

"All gone," John stated a moment later "Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."

"I don't think the rocks are green," I muttered to Martha who was still looking up.

Joan craned her neck, as if to see whether the thing landed somewhere "It came down in the woods."

"No, no, no," John shook his head, slipping into his teacher voice. I had heard that surprisingly often in the past weeks. Whenever it came to a subject the man was passionate about "No, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder." He clapped his gloved hands, his eyes lingering on me for a moment "Now, I should escort you back to the school. Ladies?"

"No, we're fine." I glanced at Martha.

The medical student nudged me "Go with him," she breathed quietly "I'll go and check the woods, alright?"

"Fine," I sighed and turned towards John "If you don't mind me tagging along."

Joan looked a little disappointed but the man's expression lit up "Not at all." He held out his arm for me, nodding to the two maids "Then I shall bid you goodnight."

* * *

I looked up at the knock to my classroom door "Hey," I smiled, nodding to Martha "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to go to the Tardis for a bit. Do you wanna join?" she questioned.

I was about to agree when I stopped and grimaced "I would love to but…" I gestured to my desk "Who knew that being a teacher is such hard work."

Martha let out a laugh and patted my shoulder "Want me to bring you back some blood?"

"Would you?" I asked.

"Sure," the medical student shrugged "Not like I have a blood phobia or something… That would be sort of unfortunate."

I smirked "What? A future doctor with a phobia of blood? I would love to see that."

"Honestly? So would I," the other girl admitted "Anyway, I'm going to go now. I'll put them in your room once I get back, alright? Usual place?"

"Yup," I nodded and glanced past her at Timothy. I had asked to speak to him at the end of his classes "Now scram. I have a date." Here I winked at Timothy with a small grin, causing the boy to tilt his head in surprise.

Martha blinked and looked around, snorting at my comment "Hello, Tim."

"Hi," the boy smiled. He was well known around the staff as one of the few really well-mannered children. He was always happy to help but his school work was noticeably paced, as if he purposely got lower grades.

"I'll leave you to it, then. Bye," Martha waved, making her way past Timothy and out of the room.

I shuffled around some papers and smiled up at Timothy "You can come closer," I grinned "I don't bite."

"You told me to come and talk to you, Miss?"

"I did," I nodded "There's one thing I wanted to ask you." With that, I picked up three different notebooks, placing them open on my desk "This seems to be written by the same person, even if they tried to disguise their handwriting. What I find fascinating is that they all seem to be your roommates' homework."

"I –"

I cut him off "I'm not asking you to stop if that's what you think. I'm asking if they hurt you more than the beatings the other teachers are allowing."

"N – No," Tim shook his head "They only… suggest it. Strongly."

"Alright," I sighed in relief "I won't mark them lower but I will talk to them if it continues. How do they want to make something of their lives if they don't even learn on their own." I shook my head in disgust "You know where to find me if they ever go too far. I'm not just your teacher, you know. I won't tell anyone about what you're going to tell me."

Timothy sent me a small, thankful smile "Thanks, Miss. I – I really appreciate it." He glanced at the clock "I have to go. Mr Smith wanted me to pick up a book from him."

"Aren't you popular today?" I teased.

"Aren't I just," the boy joked back.

* * *

John and I were in his study, each of us reading peacefully. I had gotten him another journal. This one of my journey back to England with my brothers just before we met Katerina Petrova. I wasn't sure whether she would be mentioned in that specific journal since I honestly couldn't remember the actual year I met her.

"You really do have a hand for art," I spoke up, trailing my hand over one of the sketches that held the Cyber-controller from Pete's World. It was amazingly detailed.

The human Doctor glanced over "This is nothing. Just a simple sketch."

"Better than everything I could do with pen and paper," I laughed.

"Would you… Would you like me to draw you?" John asked, fidgeting nervously "You would make the perfect addition to my journal."

I raised my eyebrow "I sincerely doubt that but if you feel the need to sketch me, go right ahead."

So… He did. I had grabbed myself another book and settled down to read, while John started sketching. I wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed before he let out a satisfied breath. I looked over curiously, slightly disappointed when I couldn't see the page from my angle "May I see?"

John got up, sitting down next to me, handing the journal over "You are by far the quietest subject I have ever drawn," he pointed out "I don't believe you have moved in over an hour."

I blinked "It's been an hour? Huh…" I looked down at the page and smiled "This is beautiful. You really are talented."

"It helps when the person in my drawing is beautiful, to begin with."

"You can be a charmer, can't you?" I asked rhetorically.

John hummed, his eyes trailing to my lips "I want to…" he trailed off, leaning forward to brush a kiss to my lips. I froze in surprise, still remembering the feeling of his lips from the last adventure. Despite my better judgement, I could definitely get addicted to him, his taste, his lips… "I've never – er…" I shook my head, pressing our lips together again when the door burst open. The human Doctor jerked away from me and I cursed myself internally. Why did I do that? What if the Doctor remembered what John Smith did – What I did? "Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?"

Martha looked from John to me with wide eyes "I – er… I was looking for Tyra, actually." She looked at me.

"Well," I cleared my throat, getting up "You found me. What's wrong?" A glance at the clock revealed the reason why she interrupted "Crap. I have to go."

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to tell you," the medical student nodded, then lowered her voice. I think over the past two months, we had mastered the art of talking to each other without people noticing, even when standing directly next to us "We're so going to have to talk about this later, do you understand?"

Before I could hurry out of the room, John stopped me "Miss Tyra… Would you do me the honour of coming to the ball with me tomorrow?"

I stopped, looking at Martha with thinly veiled panic "What do I do?" I mouthed.

"Just go along," she gestured back.

"I would love to," I replied to the man "Even if I'm not much of a ball person."

* * *

The next evening, I was dressed in a dress for the first time since entering 1913. It wasn't nearly as proper as it was supposed to be but I didn't care. I wore what I liked and what – to some extent would be able to fit in.

I bit my lips, raising my hand to knock on the door to John's study. The man opened it in a split second. He opened his mouth, closed it again before repeating the process "You look wonderful."

"Thank you," I smiled "I – I just thought I'd let you know but… I don't think I will dance today. You might be able to convince me but I don't really like dancing."

"That is alright," the man told me, stepping to the side to let me in "I'm not certain I can dance regardlessly."

I let out an amused laugh "One less thing for you to worry about, then."

"Yes. Yes." John reached out to caress my cheeks before leaning close again. I knew that I should be stopping it, I knew that I wouldn't be able to explain in case the Doctor wanted to know why I was doing what I did. The only thing I hoped was that I could stall him for long enough to… just explain. Maybe that was a good idea. It was only fair to him, right? That I explained?

"They've found us," Martha panted, bursting into the room again.

I turned my head to look at her "You have really bad timing."

"Martha," John groaned "I've warned you."

"They've found us," the medical student repeated urgently, pleading with me "And I've seen them. They look like people, like us, like normal. I'm sorry but you've got to open the watch." She hurried over to the mantlepiece "Where is it?" Martha's motions got more frantic "Oh, my God. Where's it gone? Where's the watch?"

John frowned as I stalked to Martha's side "What are you talking about?"

"You had a watch," Martha explained impatiently "A fob watch. Right there."

"Did I?" John tilted his head "I don't remember."

"But we need it," the other girl exclaimed, whirling to face me "Please tell me that you know where it is. You spent a lot of time in here. Didn't you notice that it was missing?" When I just looked at her blankly, she groaned "Oh, my God, Doctor, we're hiding from aliens and they've got Jenny and they've possessed her or copied her or something and you've got to tell me, where's the watch?"

A look of realisation crossed the human Time Lord's face "Oh, I see," he nodded "It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story."

I stifled my laughter as the medical student raised her hand to her forehead "Or you complete… This is not you. This is nineteen thirteen."

"Good," John soothed "This is nineteen thirteen."

"Oh, this is better than any soap," I mumbled to myself, watching their exchange like a tennis match.

Martha bit her lip "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry but I've got to snap you out of this." She slapped the not-quite-Doctor hard "Wake up. You're coming back to the Tardis with me."

"How dare you," John gasped "How dare you. I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant. Martha, you are dismissed. You will leave these premises immediately. Now, get out."

"Ty, do something," the other girl suddenly turned back to me "You have to tell him."

I ran a hand through my hair, musing it up "Actually, John," I started "Martha is telling the truth. You did have a watch and everything she said was true. The journal… Everything has happened, John."

The man shook his head "You're both insane," he grumbled, storming past us and out of the door.

Martha and I exchanged looks and I sighed "You look for the watch, I'll follow him?"

"Done," Martha nodded, racing off towards… wherever it was she was going to search.

* * *

John's scent had lead me to the Village dance and I relaxed a little. There were a lot of people in there, not too much of a chance for an attack… Then again. Who knew with the Family. They wanted a Time Lord, so they probably wouldn't stop at one village.

As soon as I entered the hall, my gaze rested on John who was stiffly dancing with Joan. When had those two found each other? A feeling bubbled up inside of me but I pushed it back violently. There was no time for this. I had to get John alone somehow but… He looked happy, relaxed. Maybe I could give him a little longer. As long as the Family wasn't here yet and the watch was missing, I should leave them be.

"What are you doing?" Martha questioned a little while later, coming to a stop next to me "I thought you would talk to him, explain the situation."

I gestured to Joan "I didn't want to interrupt. Honestly, he looked happy and I wanted him to have that moment."

"With Matron Redfern?"

"What can you do?" I shrugged "Did you find it?"

The medical student shook her head "No. It's nowhere. What if the Family already has it?"

"Then they wouldn't be here," I pointed out "No, someone else must have taken it. But why? And who?"

"Come on," Martha sighed "We have to try and talk to him again."

John had just returned to Joan, carrying two drinks in his hands. When he caught sight of us, he sighed "Oh, now really? This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave." He hesitated for a moment "Both of you."

Martha held up the Doctor's sonic, waving it in John's face "Do you know what this is? Name it," she challenged "Go on, name it."

I snatched it from her hand "Martha," I warned, looking around nervously. I wasn't sure whether the Family were here. Someone could be listening to our conversation and that would be the end of it.

"John, what is that silly thing?" Joan asked, wrinkling her nose "John?"

"You're not John Smith," Martha told them man "You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal… Like Tyra said, he's real. He's you." I closed my eyes for a moment before looking around the room. I was about to turn back to the conversation when a little girl caught my eye. She was holding a red balloon and had a satisfied smile on her face. Well, damn.

All of a sudden, a voice barked over the sound of music "There will be silence," a man shouted "All of you." People started to huddle together and several screamed when animated scarecrows entered, blocking all exits "I said, silence."

The man who owned the hall, stepped forwards "Mr Clarke, what's going on?" he questioned carefully. Without a second of hesitation, he was vaporised.

"Mr Smith?" Martha started urgently "Everything I told you, just forget it. Don't say anything."

"It's too late for that," I muttered, my eyes on the little girl.

Bains gritted his teeth as the screams continued "We asked for silence. Now then, we have a few questions for Mr Smith."

"No, better than that," the little girl grinned, skipping up to the two men at the front of the room "The teacher. He's the Doctor. I heard them talking."

Baines looked at the man with a tilted head, inhaling "You took human form," he taunted, slightly surprised by the events.

"Of course, I'm human," John blinked "I was born human, as were you, Baines. And Jenny and you, Mr Clarke. What's going on? This is madness."

"Ooh," the boy continued with a smirk "And a human brain too. Simple, thick and dull."

Jenny let out a noise of distress "But he's no good like this."

"We need a Time Lord," Clarke agreed.

"Easily done," Baines shrugged, raising his ray gun to the human Doctor's head "Change back."

John looked at him in confusion and fear "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Change back."

"I literally do not know…"

Jenny shot forward, grabbing a hold of me, while Clarke grabbed Martha. I went with her easily. No sense, showing everyone what I was just yet. I didn't feel like compelling everyone later "She's your lover, isn't she? Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"

John shook his head desperately "I don't know what you mean."

"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human?" Baines questioned, stepping closer to me and Jenny "Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or teacher? Your friend or your lover? Your choice."


	25. Family of Blood

"Make your decision, Mr Smith," Jenny said. I caught Martha's gaze and got ready to get out of the Mother's grip when the other girl nodded.

Baines hummed "Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge."

I moved quickly and was about to knock Jenny out when the whispering started in my mind. My head snapped to the side with those of the family " _Time Lord,_ " a voice breathed. I stepped back when I was suddenly free and glanced down in confusion. My eyes widened a little when I saw the body on the ground. How?

"It's him," Baines hissed.

While the Family was distracted, Martha quickly wrestled the gun away from the Father's hands, holding it to his forehead "Alright," she snapped, casting a quick glance to the ground by my feet "One more move and I shoot."

"Oh, the maid is full of fire," Baines laughed.

"And you can shut up." Martha fired the gun at the ceiling, causing the remainder of the Family to back away from her.

Clark grabbed Baines' arm, barely holding back his anger "Careful, Son of Mine. This is all for you so that you can live forever. Don't risk us in favour of your plan."

Baines barely deemed the other man worthy of a look before his hand shot up, pointing the gun at Martha "Shoot you down," he smirked. I shifted to stand in front of the medical student enough so that the shot would hit me but not enough so that she wouldn't be able to shot him.

"Try it," Martha challenged.

"Would you really pull the trigger?" Baines asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement "Looks too scared."

Martha growled lowly "Scared and holding a gun is a good combination. Do you want to risk it?" The Family lowered their guns as one, staring at both of us in disgust "Doctor, get everyone out. There's a door at the side. It's over there." She gestured with her left hand "Go on. Do it, Mr Smith. I mean you."

"Do what she said," Joan called out "Everybody out, now. Don't argue, Mr Jackson. They're mad. That's all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you." As if that broke the spell, the villagers started running away, screaming their heads off.

"Do they always have to scream?" I complained.

Martha let out an incredulous laugh "Not all of us can be practically immortal and not feat anything, Ty."

"I'm not not afraid of anything," I murmured before turning to her. I grabbed the gun out of her hands and prodded her in the Doctor's – John's direction "Go. I'll be right there, alright?"

Martha hesitated for a moment "Don't kill them," she breathed, moving away "They're not worth it."

When everyone was gone, I tilted my head, staring at the three remaining Family members "So, what now? Are we going to stare at each other until your painfully short lives end or are you going to do something?"

"She's almost brave, this one," Baines grinned before a thoughtful look flitted across his face "Then again, that much was obvious from the first class. There is something different about her."

"What happened to Baines?" I asked, a little concerned about my student. I doubted that he was still alive but it was worth a try.

The Son sneered "Consumed. Their bodies are outs."

"Thanks," I nodded "Means I don't have to feel guilty for killing a friend." I gestured to Jenny's body.

The Father snarled and was about to raise his gun, when Baines interrupted by snapping at the scarecrow that had been sneaking up on me "Get the gun." I let the gun go, easily, throwing them another look before I was out of there. From the looks of it, the Son wouldn't have it easy to convince the Father to continue with their goals. One of them was already dead and the others would soon follow. Whether due to their lifespan or another reason.

"Miss Tyra," John gasped, hurrying over to me "Are you alright?"

I blinked at him in surprise, not having expected him to still be here "I'm fine."

"Are they still alive?" Martha asked when I joined her.

I hummed "Sadly, they are. Which means that you." Here I shot a look to John who was still hovering behind me worriedly "Should be running. Not standing around playing bodyguard."

"He's rather rubbish as a human, isn't he?" Martha asked.

"I wouldn't say that," I snorted "Different and yet the same." I glanced over to him, only to catch Joan's look of… Whatever it was. Normally, it was easy for me to read other people's feelings. The only real exception to that was the Doctor.

We hurried back to the school and John shut the main doors behind us, grabbing the bell. I flinched at the loudness of the ringing and Martha ripped his arm away "What are you doing?"

"Maybe one man can't fight then," John murmured "But this school teaches us to stand together." When the boys slowly filtered down, he shouted to them "Take arms. Take arms."

"You can't do that," the other girl groaned "Tyra. Can't you…?"

"Sorry," I shrugged "But even as a teacher I don't have the authority. Women, you know? I didn't want to go overboard."

John glared at both of us lightly "You want me to fight, don't you? That's what I'm doing. Take arms. Take arms."

Hutchinson stumbled down the stairs, looking a little sleepy "I say, sir, what's the matter?"

"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson," John explained "Enemy at the door. Take arms."

The guns were being passed out as Martha flitted between the boys "You can't do this, Doctor… Mr Smith."

"Redfern," John snapped "Maintain position over the stable yard. Faster now. That's it."

"They're just boys," the medical student tried "You can't ask them to fight. They don't stand a chance."

I leaned against the wall by them, watching the chaos unfold. I hated the fact that the boys had to go through that but sadly they didn't have a choice. Not with what was going to come next year. This was one thing I hated about time travel. Going to the past, knowing what's going to happen but having no way of stopping it "Martha, let it go. You won't be able to change his mind."

"What in thunder's name is this?" the Headmaster shouted, entering to see the complete chaos that was happening around us "Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?"

John stepped up nervously "Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack."

"Really?" the man snorted "Is that so? Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."

"No," John shook his head urgently "I promise you, sir. I was in the village with Miss Mikaelson. It's Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mr Clark from Oakham Farm. They've gone mad, sir. They've got guns. They've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen."

Headmaster Rocastle raised his eyebrows, his eyes finding me "Miss Mikaelson, is that so?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Joan cut in "It's afraid it's true, sir."

"Murder on our own soil?"

"We all saw it. Yes."

Rocastle paled "Perhaps you did well then, Mr Smith. What makes you think the danger's coming here?"

"Well, sir, they said…"

John was cut off as well. Really, now? It was like Joan was asking to be in the centre of attention "Baines threatened Mr Smith, sir. Said he'd follow him. We don't know why."

"Very well," the Headmaster nodded before turning to the boys "You boys, remain on guard. Mr Snell, telephone for the police. Mr Philips, with me. We shall investigate."

Martha's eyes widened "No! But it's not safe out there."

Rocastle rolled his eyes "Mr Smith, it seems your favourite servant is giving me advice. You will control her, sir."

I snorted at Martha's affronted look and whispered "Men." Before following the men out of the front gate.

"Miss Mikaelson," Mr Philips frowned "You should stay inside where it's safe."

"Not at all," I shook my head "I will be fine, sir. You should worry about yourself. Baines is… unhinged."

Rocastle glanced at us before stopping a few feet from where Baines was standing with some of his scarecrows gathered around him. The Father and Sister were nowhere to be seen. It put me a little on edge. The Headmaster mustered the boy critically "So. Baines… Am I to gather that some practical joke has got out of hand?"

"Headmaster, sir," Baines straightened, a glint of sadistic amusement in his eyes "Good evening, sir. Come to give me a caning, sir? Would you like that, sir?"

"Keep a civil tongue, boy," the man flustered.

Mr Philips took a small step forward when it looked like the Headmaster was really to blow up "Now come on, everyone. I suspect alcohol has played its part in this." I glanced back when I felt eyes on me and saw John standing in one of the windows "Let's all just calm down. And who are these friends of yours, Baines, in fancy dress?"

"Do you like them, Mr Philips?" Baines asked "I made them myself. I'm ever so good at science, sir. Look." He pulled off the arm off one of the scarecrows "Molecular fringe animation fashioned in the shape of straw men. My own private army, sir. It's ever so good, sir."

Rocastle let out a sigh "Baines, step apart from this company and come inside with me."

Baines shook his head mockingly "No, sir. You, sir, you will send us Mr John Smith. That's all we want, sir, Mr John Smith, Miss Mikaelson and whatever the two have done with Smith's Time Lord consciousness. Then we'd be very happy to leave you alone."

"You speak with someone else's voice, Baines," the Headmaster murmured "Who might that be?"

"We are the Family of Blood."

Rocastle narrowed his eyes "Mr Smith said there had been deaths."

"Yes, sir," Baines smirked "And they were good, sir."

"Well, I warn you, the school is armed."

Baines looked very unimpressed with the threat and I couldn't fault him. His enemies were boys who had never killed before. They would do it, I was aware but that didn't mean that they wouldn't be scarred after this whole ordeal "All your little tin soldiers," the Son spat "But tell me, sir, will they thank you?"

"I don't understand," Rocastle blinked.

"What do you know of history, sir?" Baines asked "What do you know of next year?"

I took a step forward "That's enough."

"Oh, not even close," Baines laughed hollowly before going back to ignoring me "1914, sir. Because the Family has travelled far and wide looking for Mr Smith and – oh – the things we have seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?" I bit my tongue sharply. I actually agreed with that. I knew that the World Wars lead to a lot of good things in the future but… Now? For these boys here? It was the worst thing that could have happened.

"Don't you forget, boy," the Headmaster snapped "I have been a soldier. I was in South Africa. I used my dead mates for sandbags. I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country."

Baines waved his hand "Et cetera, et cetera." He raised his gun, pointing it at Mr Philips. I grabbed the other man's arm, whirling him away from the beam that was about to pulverize him. Said beam only missed me by inches. Baines shot me a glare "Run along, Headmaster. Run back to school. And send us Mr Smith. The girl we'll happily keep here."

I sneered "I'd like to see you try." I shoved Philips towards the Headmaster and took off, careful to not run too fast while they could still see me. I dodged several scarecrows along with more than one beam.

I ran around for a while longer before I looped around back to the school, making sure that I lost the last of the scarecrows as well. While they weren't that fast, they seemed to be everywhere. Bit like cockroaches really. As soon as I got close enough, I saw a figure on one of the dormitory windows, climbing out. I glanced around, making sure that no one was nearby and hurried over "Tim?" I frowned, recognizing the boy. Tim startled and his hands slipped from the ledge. He was about to let out a sound of surprise when I caught him, my hand wrapping around his mouth "Shh. Do you want them to find us?"

"Miss…"

I cut him off "I think we're a bit beyond formality now, don't you?" I sent him a small grin "It's Tyra or Ty. I don't care either way. Just – for the love of everything don't call me Miss Mikaelson."

"I have to find him," Tim murmured, clutching something in his hand. A flash of gold caught my attention.

"Find… Wait." I recognized the watch he was holding "Is that the Doctor's watch?"

Tim shifted uncomfortably "It wanted me to take it," he admitted, holding it out to me "He said it was too soon."

I placed my hand over the gold metal for a moment, watching Tim's eyes widen in surprise "Can you help me find him? I'm not sure where they are now."

"The watch can lead us," the boy murmured "We have to get going. It's time."

"Did he tell you that?" I questioned.

Tim looked over his shoulder at the school "It has to be time. We have to stop them."

"Well, you're definitely right about that," I sighed and gestured for him to follow "Come on. You tell me where to go and I keep and eye and ear out for the scarecrows."

With that, we walked in silence for a few minutes, getting further and further away from the school and closer to the Cartwright's cottage "He showed me…" Tim broke off before shaking his head "I saw so much. The watch – It showed me so many incredible things. How do you do it?"

"What?" I blinked, looking at the younger boy over my shoulder.

"Travel with him. See all those wonders, all that death."

I bit my lip "Honestly? I like it. Like being around him. He showed me a lot of things and helped me more than I would ever be able to help him."

"I don't think so," Tim denied "I saw you in the watch."

"Did you now?"

The boy nodded "At first, I was afraid of you. You and Mr Smith but… He really is magnificent, isn't he?"

I smiled "He's fantastic," I agreed, stopping at a cross in the road "Where to now? I've never been to that cottage."

"Over there," Tim pointed to the dark outline of a cottage in the darkness of the night. He sped up, hurrying over to the closed door.

I tilted my head, hearing muffled voices inside " _And that's what you want me to become?_ " John scoffed.

"They're in there," I nodded, knocking lightly.

Everything inside froze " _What if it's them?_ " Joan whispered.

Martha snorted " _I'm not an expert but I don't think scarecrows knock._ "

"Why would scarecrows knock?" I asked as soon as the door was open.

The other girl stepped back "Of course, you heard that. Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know," I waved off, prodding Tim inside in front of me "Running around, avoiding scarecrows. I don't think I have to go out for a jog anytime soon."

As soon as I was inside, John shot forward, tilting my head up "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

I brushed his hands off and shook my head "No. I was avoiding them, leading some of the scarecrows away from the school. I don't think it worked, though."

Tim stepped forward when John made to say something in protest "I brought you this."

Martha looked from the boy to me and I shrugged "He took it from his room, apparently."

"Hold it," the medical student urged, nodding to the watch.

John shook his head, taking a couple of steps away "I won't."

"Please," Martha pleaded "Just hold it."

"It told me to find you," Tim explained, still holding out the watch "It wants to be held."

Joan frowned at the boy "You've had this watch all this time? Why didn't you return it?"

"Because it was waiting." Tim's tone was defensive. I placed a calming hand on his shoulder. Neither Martha nor I blamed him. If that was what the Doctor wanted, then he would have found a way to return to John. Tim looked at me uncertainly "And because I was so scared of the Doctor."

"Why?"

Tim shrugged "Because I've seen him. He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."

"Stop it," John snapped.

"He's ancient and forever," the boy continued "He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

John clenched his hands "Stop it. I said stop it."

"And he's wonderful," Tim finished.

Joan pulled out the journal "I've still got this. The journal."

"Those are just stories," John shook his head.

"They're not," I whispered, holding my hand out for the book "This is his life, John. Our life."

John looked up at me "You knew all this time," he accused "You knew that I was… I was this man."

"I did," I nodded "But you're not him, John. You're you, while the Doctor is the Doctor. There are a lot of similarities but you're different people."

Outside, there was a big bang, causing the cottage to shake violently. Martha hurried to the window "What the hell?" From my place in the middle of the room, I could see the night light up as fireballs fell to Earth a little way away.

"They're destroying the village," Joan gasped.

"The watch," John breathed, grabbing it from Tim's hands.

I held out my hands, stopping him from going anywhere "What are you doing?"

"Can you hear it?" Tim asked, looking at the man curiously. I could barely make out a voice. Nothing like the feeling I got earlier when the watch was open. This time, there was only undecipherable murmuring.

John licked his lips, looking at his hands "I think he's asleep. Waiting to awaken."

"Why did he speak to me?"

"Oh." And even this one word was just so… Doctor. This was him, not John "Low-level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing…" He broke off with a huge gasp "Is that how he talks?"

"That's him," Martha laughed happily "All you have to do is open it and he's back."

I closed my eyes at her words. While they were true, she was forgetting one very important thing. Something that I couldn't forget. Not now. I owed him that much. John Smith was alive. Oh, so very alive and it was unfair to ask him to open the watch, to practically kill himself to bring the Doctor back.

John looked at the other girl with a look of shocked realization "You knew this all along and yet you watched while Miss Tyra and I…" His head turned to me "You knew. Why – How could you do that?"

"I didn't plan on it," I murmured "I really, really didn't. But you're so similar to him and I just couldn't." I looked down "I was trying to stay away from you and when that didn't work, I just… I'm really sorry, John. I know that it's unfair to ask you to…"

John gritted his teeth "So you just expect me to die?"

"It was always going to end, though," Martha argued "The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."

I closed my eyes in pain. I didn't want John to die but I also wanted to have the Doctor back. There was no right way in this. One way or another, someone would die. Either it was John Smith or it was the Doctor if John gave the Family the watch. I glanced from Martha to John before walking over to join Joan by the window. The woman was leafing through the journal, hoping to find something useful. Maybe there was something. I didn't read through it completely, mostly the parts where John had written about us, about our talks.

"Are you alright?" Joan asked, studying me intently.

"I don't know," I murmured, leaning against the wall next to her "Is it bad that I want the Doctor back? I don't want John to leave but…"

Joan tilted her head "But you've loved the Doctor for longer."

"Yeah," I nodded before looking over at the man "I think this is the first time I admitted it while this close to him."

"People are dying out there," Martha shouted, startling me a little "They need him and Ty and I need him. Because you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him. It wasn't even that long ago but he is everything. He's just everything to…" Martha looked at me "You just have to change back. If not for me, then do it for Tyra."

"Martha," I spoke up, shaking my head "I –"

An explosion sounded close by "It's getting closer," Tim whispered.

All of a sudden, John perked up "I should have thought of it before. I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am."

"You can't do that," Martha snapped.

"If they want the Doctor, they can have him."

I swallowed "You can't." I glanced to the others "Could you… Could you give us a moment? I think John and I should talk." Tim and Martha nodded, walking out with Joan following behind "John, if you give them the watch, they would live forever. There is a reason that the Doctor went this far to keep them from getting to him." His eyes welled up and I stepped a little closer, pulling him into a hug "I'm really sorry. I hate asking anything like this from you. I really do like you in your own way."

"Will he love you?" John asked quietly, tears still falling onto the fabric of my dress.

I licked my lips "I think he will. Actually, no. I know that he will. I know that he does and I love him too." It was weird to admit it to him because there was a high chance that he would remember if John decided to open the watch but… This was something I was willing to risk. I should have talked to him a long time ago but I had been a coward "It's your decision, John. I can't take that from you but I ask that you consider everything." I placed my hand on top of the one that was holding the watch.

_Vision_

_I gasped in surprise when I saw John kissing me, while I was wearing a wedding dress._

_John holding a baby, looking down at me on the bed. My heart clenched when I thought about this. This was never going to happen thanks to my mother. I wasn't sure whether I would have wanted children but… Now I didn't have a choice._

_John was lying on his death bed as an old man, holding my hand "They're all safe, aren't they?" he rasped "The children, the grandchildren. Everyone's safe?"_

" _Everyone's safe," I heard myself say "And they all send their love, John."_

_John smiled a little "Well, it's time. Thank you." With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off._

_End Vision_

I opened my eyes to John's gasp "Did you see?"

"Yeah, but John…" I started.

"The Doctor would never be able to have a life like that, would he?" the man challenged.

I shook my head "No, he couldn't. But then again, neither could I."

"What?"

"John, what you dreamed about me," I licked my lips and looked up at him "I'm not human. I can't age, can't have children. We could never have the life you just saw."

His shoulders dropped "I…"

"What are you going to do?" I asked when it looked like he was lost in thoughts.

John didn't answer, instead pulling me closer, pressing a kiss to my lips. Halfway through, I noticed a change and broke away. The Doctor looked down at me "I think we're going to have a talk later, don't we?"

"I… Yeah," I breathed "I think we do."

"But before that." He turned on his heels, hurrying out of the cottage and past the others to where the spaceship of the Family was parked.

I didn't even have any time to process what happened before Martha practically stormed in, demanding what happened. I explained everything as well as I could but internally, I was worried about my talk with the Doctor. Would he be mad that I kept it from him for so long? I mean, he didn't necessarily say anything either but… Still. I think I was still worse than he was.

It took another explosion – This one coming from the field where the spaceship had been before the Doctor got back. He just silently appeared at the cottage "Ty, Martha, I'm going to take care of the Family. You two come and meet me by Clarke's field, alright? I won't be long."

"Alright," Martha nodded as we watched the Time Lord disappear back into the slowly lightening sky.

"Come on," I sighed, running a tired hand over my face "Let's get going."

The other girl nodded, patting Tim's shoulder "Do you want to come with us to the Tardis?" Martha offered "I'm sure you'd love it."

"Maybe," Tim murmured "But… I'll meet you there. There's something I have to do first."

"Okay then."

Martha walked out and I was about to follow her when I caught sight of Joan sitting on one of the chairs, her face buried in her hands "Martha? You go ahead. I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Are you sure?" the other girl asked, seeing what I was talking about.

"Yeah, I am. Go." When Martha was gone, I walked over to Joan, sitting down in the chair next to her "I'm sorry."

The nurse looked up, her eyes a little red "What could you possibly be sorry for? You didn't make John open the watch. You didn't make him love you instead of me."

"I –" I closed my eyes. I wasn't good at comforting people. Children, to an extent but women? Yeah, no "I think John could have had an amazing life with you if that makes you feel any better. I would have never been able to give him what he truly wanted."

"What do you mean?" Joan asked.

I gestured to the book on the table "You read the book. I think it said some things about me in there. I wish I could make you feel any better but… I can't. The only thing I can do is to promise that you won't have to see him again."

"Why are you even talking to me?" the woman asked after a few moments of silence "I wasn't exactly nice to you or Martha."

"Because I know how it feels to get left in the dust," I told her quietly "It will hurt for a while but you'll move on. I'm sure of it. You're a strong woman, Joan. I know that you will be fantastic. Maybe even more so than the Doctor." I got up from the chair and placed my head on her shoulder "Do you know what I think? I think that you should keep this." I pressed the journal into her hands and smiled "To remind you that you can do everything you wish to do. That you're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Joan looked at the book for a moment before she smiled "Thank you."

"You're more than welcome," I nodded "So, this is goodbye, then."

"I mean it, Tyra. Thank you for talking to me. John was never mine, I can see that clear as day but from what I've seen. You and the Doctor… Don't let him go. Even if you're scared.

I inclined my head "I don't want to let him go. I will if he wishes it after finding out what I kept from him but… No, I would let him go. Let go of the life I have with him if he wants me to."

"You would sacrifice your own happiness for what he wants?"

"Yes," I replied without hesitation before turning around to walk out the door. I looked in the direction of the field before shaking my head, speeding to the school. I wanted to check up on the boys one more time before I was gone again. The whole time I watched them, I stayed in the shadows, out of sight. When I was sure that they were fine, a little shaken up but ultimately alright, I made my way to the field where the Tardis was already waiting for me.

"Is it done?" the Doctor asked when I trudged through the pouring rain up to meet them.

Martha looked at me "How was she?"

"Not as bad as she could have been," I shrugged "I think she appreciated the journal. Something to hold onto, you know?"

"Good," the Doctor nodded "That's good. Come on, you two. It's time we moved on."

Martha turned her head to him, the atmosphere suddenly turning awkward. I wasn't sure what the had been talking about before I got back but apparently nothing good "So… Here we are then."

"There we are, yes," the Time Lord returned before a smile stole its way onto his face "And I never said. Thanks for looking after me. Both of you." He pulled Martha into a hug before doing the same to me.

"Doctor. Martha. Tyra," Tim called from the bottom of the small hill. I turned in the Doctor's embrace, his arms still wrapped around me comfortably.

"Tim Timothy Timber," the Doctor grinned.

Tim came to a stop in front of us "I just wanted to say goodbye. And thank you. Because I've seen the future and I now know what must be done." He paused, shuffling in the wet mud "It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."

Martha put a hand on his shoulder "You don't have to fight."

"I think we do," Tim shook his head.

"But you could get hurt."

The boy laughed "Well, so could you two, travelling around with him but it's not going to stop you."

The Doctor tightened his arms a little before slipping one of his hands into his pocket "Tim, I'd be honoured if you'd take this." He handed the fob watch over, watching the boy closely.

"I can't hear anything," Tim exclaimed in surprise.

"No," the Doctor agreed "It's just a watch now. But keep it with you. For good luck."

Martha grabbed him in a tight hug "Look after yourself." She pressed a small kiss to his cheek before going into the Tardis to finally escape the rain.

The Time Lord sent Tim a grin "You'll like this bit," he advised, walking through the open door as well.

I smiled at the boy in front of me "Be careful out there." I looked over my shoulder "And kick some butt for me, would you?" As soon as I closed the door behind me, the Tardis dematerialised and we were back to our normal lives.

Once the Tardis was locked in the Vortex, the Doctor turned to me "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," I nodded, following him quietly. On my way past her, Martha gave me thumbs up and winked. For some odd reason, I felt like I was walking to my doom. Of course, it was crap but I was still scared that he would abandon me because of how I felt for him. We didn't speak until we reached our favourite talking place, the Chinese garden. I couldn't even say why I loved it as much as I did but whenever I was in here, I felt freer somehow.

The Doctor lead me to the Pavilion and leaned against the railing "Were you ever going to tell me?"

My head snapped up when I heard those words "What… You really think I…" At his look, I trailed off "I think so, yes. Doctor, I'm scared, alright? You know that I don't know a lot about… All of this."

"Does that really matter?"

"No. Yes. I don't know," I muttered, running a hand through my hair "I do know that I'm not ready for anything yet. I love you. I think I really do but… I don't know if I can do that."

The Time Lord sighed, deflating a little "So what do you reckon I should do now? Just ignore it? Because if that's the case, I don't want to do it. You're an amazing girl, Tyra and you deserve so much. Why won't you let me show you?"

"I can't." I clenched my hands in my hair, tugging "Every time I think I might be able to be comfortable… I just can't."

"Alright," the Doctor nodded "I might not like it but… Okay. I also see that this isn't really the time to talk about this more. But we will be talking about this soon, understood? Now that I know how you feel, I don't want to give this up. I hope that you understand that too."

I nodded "Yeah. I feel stupid just for saying it out loud. That's the reason I never said anything."

"It's not stupid," the Time Lord murmured, pulling me into his arms "You're not stupid. It's alright to be scared but don't let it ruin something good, okay?"

"Okay. I promise."

"That's all I needed to hear. By the way, did you really forget what happened with that sun?" I opened my mouth and closed it again, lowering my head. The Doctor raised his eyebrows at that and studied me even more intently "Tyra?"

My expression turned sheepish "Er, no. I – Sorry."

"Why would you tell me you didn't remember?" the Time Lord question "I mean, I get your reasons for everything else. Sort of but I don't understand why you didn't just talk to me." I bit my lip and shrugged, causing him to sigh "No more lies, yeah?"

I shook my head with a small smile "No more lies."


	26. Utopia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go. The beginning! So, I have a plan for posting the rest of Series 3. Apart from this chapter here, there are three more. I will post one chapter around every half week or so. Basically, it means that Series 3 will be finished in a week and a half.
> 
> ALSO: If you could read the bottom AN and please, please review. That would be really awesome.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"Cardiff," the Doctor called out with a huge grin.

Martha stared at him in shocked disappointment "Cardiff?"

I nudged her in the side "You'd be surprised. Cardiff is almost as bad as London when it comes to aliens… Not quite as extreme but there's been some around over the past few years. Maybe compare it to New York."

"Exactly," the Doctor nodded "But the thing about Cardiff, it's built on a rift in time and space, just like California and the San Andreas Fault but the rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel."

"So it's a pit stop," Martha realized. I smiled sadly, remembering the last time we had to stop in Cardiff for a little bit. The other girl raised her eyebrow at me "Why do you look like that?"

I tilted my head "Look like what?"

"Like that," Martha pointed out "Why are you sad?"

"Ah," I mumbled, playing with a few strands of my hair "Sorry, I was just thinking about the last time we had to stop here."

The Doctor placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly "It should only take about twenty seconds. The rift's been active." That actually made him frown and move around the console to stare at the monitor.

His eyes darkened a little and I was about to say something when Martha interrupted, drawing my attention away from him "Wait a minute," Martha snapped her fingers "They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?"

"Bit of trouble with a Slitheen," the Time Lord waved off "A long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then." He sent us a bright grin that didn't reach his eyes "Finito. All powered up." Seriously? Something had to be going on. I was making my way around the console and over to the Doctor. Before I reached him, he set the time rotor moving and almost as soon as we took off, the console exploded.

Martha immediately held onto the railing tightly "Whoa. What's that?"

"We're accelerating into the future," the Doctor breathed, his wide eyes still on the monitor. I fought to get back to my feet, rubbing at my arm with a small grimace. The small burn that I had gotten from the console was already disappearing "The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. Fifty trillion? What? The year one hundred trillion? That's impossible."

"Why?" the medical student blinked "What happens then?"

The Doctor looked up at us in trepidation "We're going to the end of the universe."

" _Doctor,_ " a faint voice was shouting somewhere. My head snapped around and I frowned. What was that? It… It sounded like Jack but that was impossible, right? I shook my head. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. After all, I had been thinking about the last time the Doctor and I had been to Cardiff with Jack.

The Tardis fell quiet and the Doctor straightened cautiously "Well, we've landed."

"What's out there?" the other girl asked.

The Time Lord sighed, running a hand through his hair "I don't know."

Martha shot him a smirk "Say that again. That's rare."

"Not even the Time Lords came this far," the Doctor explained "We should leave. We should… go. We should really, really go."

I raised my eyebrows at him "The last time you tried to talk yourself out of something, you jumped into a pit."

"You're right," he nodded in agreement "Why bother." With that he grinned, running to the door.

Outside the doors was a Quarry of some sort and it was surprisingly cold "Oh, my God," Martha breathed, running towards a figure I hadn't noticed earlier. Jack… He was actually here? So it had been him I heard earlier? "Can't get a pulse," the medical student shook her head "Hold on. You've got that medical kit thing." She shot up, running into the Tardis.

"Hello again," the Doctor murmured, making my head snap around to him "Oh, I'm sorry."

I crossed my arms "Sorry? You're sorry about what?"

Before he could open his mouth, Martha ran back out with the medical kit "Here we go. Get out of the way. It's a bit odd, though. Not very hundred trillion. That coat's more like World War Two."

"I think he came with us," the Doctor told the other girl.

Martha looked over her shoulder with a frown "How do you mean, from Earth?"

"Must have been clinging to the outside of the Tardis all the way through the vortex," the Time Lord explained, trying desperately to avoid my gaze "Well, that's very him."

"What, do you know him?" the medical student questioned, looking back down at the obviously dead man. But he couldn't be dead, right? I mean, we met him as the Face of Boe and… I rubbed my forehead in agitation. What the hell was I missing?

The Doctor hummed "Friend of ours. Used to travel with me, back in the old days."

Martha swallowed heavily "But he's – I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead." Just as the words passed her lips, Jack shot up with a huge gasp. Martha let out a scream "Oh, so much for me. It's alright. Just breathe deep. I've got you."

Everything I was or wasn't feeling flew out of the window and I stared at Jack with a slightly exasperated look on my face when he grinned up at Martha "Captain Jack Harkness," he leered "And who are you?"

Martha blushed lightly "Martha Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones."

The Doctor scoffed "Oh, don't start."

"I was only saying hello," Jack huffed, glaring at the Time Lord in annoyance.

"I don't mind," Martha shook her head, helping the Captain up from the ground.

Jack narrowed his eyes on the man across from him "Doctor."

"Captain," the Doctor shot back, the tone equally as dark.

"Good to see you."

The Time Lord hummed "And you. Same as ever… Although, have you had work done?"

"You can talk," Jack cried out.

"Oh yes, the face," the Doctor blinked "Regeneration. How did you know this was me?"

The Captain raised his eyebrow and gestured to me "Valkyrie and the police box kind of give it away. I've been following you for a long time… You abandoned me."

"What?" I spoke up, whirling around to face the Doctor "You did what?"

"You should have known that, Tyra," Jack pointed out.

I shook my head "Jack, the last thing I remember from the game station is that you died. I woke up in the Tardis when we were already gone."

"Did you…?"

"Getting killed by a Dalek hurts like a bitch," I cut him off "I asked him what happened later and he told me you stayed behind." With that, I threw a glare at the Time Lord next to me "He just left out the part where he was the one who left you and about that little thing you have apparently going on. Are you okay?"

Jack looked at me for a moment before a small smile lit up his features. He leaned down, capturing my lips with his "I missed you, Valkyrie."

I just wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. For once I ignored the fact that he had kissed me… I hadn't seen him in far too long and one more kiss wouldn't hurt "Missed you too, Jackie."

"So…" he trailed off with a small flirty grin, his eyes flashing to the Doctor for the shortest of seconds "Since I'm older now. Does that mean that you'll give me a chance?"

I snorted, thinking about our conversation before he left to fight the Daleks "Sorry, Jack. I still have quite a few centuries on you."

"You have quite a few centuries on everybody," he huffed jokingly, pressing another kiss to the top of my head "Oh well, I'm better off with you being my Valkyrie anyway."

Martha looked at us in surprise "You two are really close, aren't you?"

"Yup," I grinned, letting go of the Captain "Ooh. That reminds me… Martha, I'll have to show you the video I have from 2005 of how I com… hmpf." The last part of my sentence was muffled when Jack pressed his hand over my mouth.

"Moving on," he called, louder than necessary, turning back to the Doctor "Just got to ask… The Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

I shifted away from him uncomfortably, going to stand next to Martha as the Doctor shook his head violently "Oh, no. Sorry, she's alive. Parallel world, safe and sound. And Mickey, and her mother."

"Oh, yes," Jack cheered, throwing his arms around the Time Lord in a bear hug.

Martha shook her head "Good old Rose."

I placed my hand on her arm and spoke up quietly, making sure the two men didn't hear "Don't worry about it… Rose was – Well, I can't say too many nice things about her because she didn't like me very much as you know but trust me. You're just as good of a Companion as her. No matter what the idiot over there tells you."

"Thank you, Tyra," Martha smiled, tugging me after the two men "So, what exactly happened to you?"

Jack turned his head around to look down at Martha "So there I was, stranded in the year two hundred one hundred, ankle deep in Dalek durst and he goes off without me." He held up his wrist, tapping his Vortex Manipulator "But I had this. I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a Vortex Manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."

The Doctor snorted "Oh, excuse me. That is not time travel. It's like, I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."

"Not this again," I groaned, shaking my head in annoyance.

Martha laughed "Oh ho. Boys and their toys."

"Alright," Jack huffed, holding up his hands "So I bounced. I thought 21st century, the best place to find the Doctor, except that I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869, this thing burnt out, so it was useless…"

"Told you," the Time Lord coughed.

Jack shot him a small glare "I had to live through the entire twentieth century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me."

"But…" Martha opened and closed her mouth a few times "That makes you more than one hundred years old."

"And looking good, don't you think?" Jack smirked before shaking his head "So I went to the time rift, based myself there because I knew you'd come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this detecting and here we are."

The Captain gestured to his bag and I blinked with a frown "Jack? What is in there? It sounds… bubbly."

"Ah…" Jack shifted "Don't worry about it. I just had a hand in detecting the Doctor."

Martha turned to the Doctor before I could say anything else "But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?"

"I was busy," the Time Lord defended himself weakly.

"Is that what happens, though, seriously?" Martha demanded "Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

Jack snorted "Not if you're blonde… or a vampire."

I shot him a look "Leave me out of this, Jack. It's him you're mad at, not me."

"Sorry, Valkyrie," Jack mumbled, ruffling my hair.

Martha tilted her head "Oh, she was blonde? Oh, what a surprise."

"You two," the Doctor hissed at them, not knowing what else to do "We're at the end of the universe, alright? Right at the edge of knowledge itself and you're busy… blogging. Come on, Ty. If they have nothing better to do, let's leave them to it."

I glanced from him to Martha and Jack before shrugging and hurrying after him "Are you alright?"

"Sure," the Doctor nodded "It's just… First Rose and Sarah Jane and now the two of them?"

"Ignore them," I advised him "Jack is just mad and – if I'm honest with you – I get where he's coming from but you know Jack. After a good explanation, he'll be fine."

The Doctor nodded absentmindedly, stopping at a cliff "Yeah," he mumbled "Yeah. Maybe."

"Is that a city?" Martha asked from behind us as they caught up to us.

"A city or a hive," the Time Lord explained, already back in his element "Or a nest or a conglomeration. Like it was grown. But look, there. That's like pathways, roads? Must have been some sort of life, long ago."

Martha frowned "What killed it?"

The Doctor shrugged "Time. Just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations have gone." He glanced up at the sky "This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing."

"They must have an atmospheric shell," Jack remarked "We should be frozen to death."

"Well, we, maybe," the Doctor spoke up "Not so sure about you, Jack." I raised my hand to my head, barely restraining myself from hitting the Doctor. So much for him wanting Jack to forgive him. Whatever he was trying… This wasn't the way to achieve what he wanted to do.

"What about the people?" Martha demanded, deciding to ignore the men's silent pissing contest. Either she had seen enough of that to be able to ignore it or she just didn't care. I should be immune to things like that but sadly, I wasn't "Does no one survive?"

The Doctor sighed "I suppose we have to hope life will find a way."

My head turned towards the faint, panicked heartbeat and the pounding footsteps only to see a man running through the city pursued by a group of people with torched "Well, he's not doing too bad," I said at the same time as Jack who had caught sight of the man.

"Human," one of the group hissed out, just loud enough for me to hear.

"Is it me or does that look like a hunt?" the Doctor asked before running off towards the lower level "Come on."

Jack ran after him, grinning hugely. He reached out and grabbed my hand from where he was "Oh, I've missed this." We ran to help the man and as soon as we caught up with him, Jack pushed him behind us "I've got you." The Captain aimed his revolver at the group of what looked to be a tribe.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "Jack, don't you dare." Jack rolled his eyes but fired into the air, causing the tribe to stop in its tracks.

"What the hell are they?" Martha breathed.

The man whirled around "There's more of them. We've got to keep going."

"I've got a ship nearby," the Doctor pointed out "It's safe. It's over there." More of the tribe people appeared on the cliff, causing the Time Lord to back-pedal "Or maybe not."

"We're close to the silo," the man pointed out "If we get to the silo, then we're safe."

The Doctor turned to us "Silo?" he questioned sheepishly.

"Silo," Jack nodded in agreement, still pointing his gun at the group in front of us.

"Silo for me," Martha agreed and then we were off again.

The man we had sort of saved was leading the way. It didn't take long before tall gates came into view "It's the Futurekind," he shouted at the guards "Open the gate."

"Show me your teeth," the guard demanded "Show me your teeth. Show me your teeth."

The man whirled around to glare at us "Show him your teeth."

We all sort of grimaced, showing them out very normal and non-pointed teeth, no matter how stupid it actually seemed. The guard nodded "Human. Let them in. Let them in." The metal gates were opened far enough to let us in "Close. Close." Another guard fired its machine gun at the ground in front of the tribe as they got too close.

"Humans," the leader of the tribe breathed out, staring at all of us greedily "Humani. Make feast."

"Go back to where you came from," the guard demanded, waving his gun around "I said, go back. Back."

Jack huffed "Oh, don't tell him to put his gun down."

"He's not my responsibility," the Doctor shrugged.

"And I am?" the Captain asked, crossing his arms "That makes a change."

I hit both of them over the head "Can you two just stop? This is getting really annoying and we might have a bit of a bigger problem if you haven't noticed."

"Kind watch you," the leader pointed out "Kind hungry." He let out a yell, as the tribe backed away and left.

"Thank you for that," the Doctor smiled lightly.

The guard looked at all of us for a moment "Right. Let's get you inside."

The man who had come with us "My name is Padra Toc Shafe Cane. Tell me. Just tell me, can you take me to Utopia?"

"Oh yes, sir," the guard nodded "Yes, I can."

"What's Utopia?" I frowned, looking at the Doctor "I mean, I know what it's supposed to be in literature and everything but… Is there an actual planet called Utopia?"

The Time Lord shrugged "I don't know. I really, really don't know." He caught the guard before he could walk past us again "I need something from outside. It looks like a box, a big blue box. I'm sorry but I really need it back. It's stuck out there."

"I'm sorry," the man that had arrived with us cut in "But my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafe Cane. My brother's name is Beltone."

The guard sighed "The computers are down but you can check the paperwork." He looked over to a corner "Creet," he called out "Passenger needs help."

A young boy appeared with a clipboard in hand "Right. What do you need?" Creet questioned as Padra walked over to him.

"A blue box, you say," the guard turned back to us.

The Doctor nodded "Big, tall, wooden. Says police."

"We're driving out for the last water collection. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," the Time Lord breathed in relief.

Creet and Padra had apparently found what they were looking for on the list "Come on."

"Sorry," Martha called out, stopping the young boy "But how old are you?"

"Old enough to work," Creet shot back "This way." We followed Creet through the corridors where people were gathered on the floors. Some had put up pictures, others haven't "Kistane Shafe Cane. Kistane Shafe Cane," the young boy called out, looking from left to right, hoping to help Padra find his family "Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane? We're looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafe Cane."

Padra looked ready to freak out when no one answered "The Shafe Canes, anyone? Kistane from Red Force Five? My name's Padra."

"It's like a refugee camp," Martha breathed, looking at all the people in sadness.

Jack hummed "Stinking," he grimaced, catching the eye of a heavy set man "Sorry. No offence, not you."

I snorted "You'll never change, Jack. Still putting your foot into your mouth."

"Always, Valkyrie," the Captain winked.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at our banter but there was a content smile on his face "Don't you see that? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived. Oh, you might have spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas and another million as downloads but you always revert back to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans."

"'Ripe smell of humans'," I mocked him before shrugging "Well, that Shakespeare play we watched was worse. At least these people aren't at fault…"

"I forgot about your nose," Jack smirked "And I'm really glad that I'm not you right now."

My eyes narrowed "You forget I still have that video. And I will show it to Martha if you don't behave, Jackie."

Martha shot us a curious look "What video?"

"Oh," the Doctor laughed "You got the Tardis to record it for you?" He grumbled under his breath about spaceships betraying him by liking his Companions more.

"Is there a Kistane Shafe Cane?" Creet called out again.

A woman stood up a little way down the corridor "That's me."

"Mother?" Padra breathed, running towards her.

"Oh, my God." Kistane's face lit up with a huge smile "Padra."

Padra turned to a young man next to them "Beltone?"

"It's not all bad news," Martha remarked, watching the family reunite.

Behind us, a young man stood up almost as soon as he saw Jack. The Captain sent him a flirty smile "Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?"

"Stop it," the Doctor huffed in annoyance, spotting a door that lead to the outside "Give us a hand with this. It's half deadlocked. I need you to overwrite the code. Let's find out where we are."

Together Jack and the Time Lord managed to get the door open. The Doctor went to step through and nearly fell down the huge rocket. Only a quick action from both Jack and me prevented his fall "Gotcha," Jack said.

"Thanks," the Doctor mumbled, glancing down at the outer side of the rocket.

"How did you ever cope without me?" Jack questioned, glancing at me "Well, I guess it had a lot to do with Tyra."

I shook my head "You give me too much credit, Jack. The Doctor has turned into an overprotective idiot who doesn't want me in danger while he dives in head first."

"Yeah," the Captain smirked lightly "I'm sure that's all it is."

"Just… stop," I hit him lightly, trying to stop myself from blushing. I didn't like people talking about it… It made me uncomfortable. After the kisses and our talk last week, it had gotten somewhat worse and I was trying to ignore the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach whenever I thought about them. Why did I have to fall for him? It would only end in pain… Love always did from what I've seen "Please."

He held up his hands in surrender "Fine, fine."

Meanwhile, Martha had glanced out of the now open door and whistled "Now that is what I call a rocket."

"They're not refugees," the Doctor realized "They're passengers."

"He said they were going to Utopia," Martha pointed out, remembering what the guard had said earlier.

The Time Lord hummed "The perfect place. Hundred trillion years, it's the same old dream. You recognise those engines?"

"Nope," Jack shook his head "Whatever it is, it's not rocket science. But it's hot, though." He fanned his face for a second, before shutting the door.

"Boiling," the Doctor agreed "But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?"

An old man hurried up to us and compared to the other passengers he was dressed nicely and clean "The Doctor?" he asked, looking at Jack questioningly.

The Time Lord raised his hand "That's me."

"Good," the old man nodded, grabbing his arm "Good, good, good, good, good. Good."

The Doctor glanced back as he was being dragged off, a little confused "It's good apparently."

The old man lead us through the corridors and to what appeared to be a laboratory. I wrinkled my nose at the slight smell the room had to it. It smelled… Like old food for some reason but who was I to complain? It was better than the corridors out there. A blue bug lady turned to face us while the older man was dragging the Doctor around, showing him various pieces of equipment "Chan – Welcome – tho."

"Now," the older man cleared his throat "This is the gravitissimal accelerator. It's past its best but it works."

"Chan – Welcome – tho," the bug girl tried again, waving her hand lightly.

The old man didn't pay her any mind "And over here is the footprint impellor system. Now, do you know anything about end-time gravity…"

"Hello," Martha smiled at the girl, taking pity on her "Who are you?"

"And who is he?" I asked, pointing to the old man.

"Chan – Chantho – tho," Chantho replied, turning towards the medical student and me "And that is Professor Yana."

Jack smiled charmingly, holding out his hand "Captain Jack Harkness."

"Stop it," the Doctor groaned, rolling his eyes.

I nudged Jack's side lightly "See? That always gets his attention… No matter how far gone he is."

"Yeah," the Captain huffed in annoyance "Can't I say hello to anyone?"

"Chan – I do not protest – tho," the girl bug blushed lightly.

Jack winked at her "Maybe later, Blue." With that, he moved past her and over to the Doctor "So, what have we got here?"

The Doctor frowned at the equipment "And all this feeds into the rocket?"

"Yeah," Yana nodded "Except without a stable footprint, you see, we're unable to achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns and unify them – well – we might yet make it." He looked up at the Time Lord with wide, pleading eyes "What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?"

The Doctor tugged at his ear "Well, er, basically, sort of… Not a clue."

Yana deflated "Nothing?"

"I'm not from around these parts," the Doctor admitted quietly "I've never seen a system like it. Sorry."

"No, no," the older man shook his head "I'm sorry. It's my fault. There's been so little help."

I startled lightly when Martha brushed past me to take a look at Jack's backpack. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to hear noises from it. She poked forward curiously and pulled out a transparent container that contained a very familiar hand "Oh, my God. You've got a hand? A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag."

"So that's what you mean with 'You had a hand in finding the Doctor'," I nodded "Clever."

The Doctor gaped at the hand "But that – that – that's my hand."

Jack shifted uncomfortably "I said I had a Doctor detector," the Captain shrugged defensively.

Chantho blinked "Chan – is this a tradition amongst your people – tho?"

"Not on my street," the medical student exclaimed before turning on the Doctor "What do you mean, that's your hand? You've got both of your hands. I can see them."

"Long story," the Time Lord waved off "I lost my hand Christmas Day, in a sword fight. Tyra can confirm."

I nodded when the heads turned to me "I can confirm how painful it looked. I swear, your stance made me cringe. How you won that fight, I'll never know." I paused "Then again. You did lose your hand."

Martha raised an eyebrow "What? And he grew another hand?"

"Er, yeah," the Doctor nodded "Yeah, I did." He wiggled his fingers "Yeah. Hello."

Yana tilted his head "Might I ask, what species are you?"

"Time Lord, last of," the Doctor replied "Heard of them? Legend or anything?" When the other man shook his head "Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."

I smirked "About time that happens."

Chantho lowered her head a little "Chan – it is said that I am the last of my species too – tho."

"Sorry, what was your name?" the Doctor questioned, looking at the bug lady for the first time.

"My assistant and good friend, Chantho," Yana spoke up hurriedly "A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."

The Doctor hummed "The city outside, that was yours?"

"Chan – the conglomeration died – tho," the blue lady murmured sadly.

"Conglomeration," the Doctor muttered happily "That's what I said."

Jack and I looked at him incredulously. The Captain shook his head "You're supposed to say sorry."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor grimaced in embarrassment "Sorry."

"Chan – most grateful – tho," Chantho nodded lightly.

Martha got back to the matter at hand "You grew another hand?"

"Hello, again," the Doctor waved and sighed at her look "It's fine. Look, really, it's me."

"All this time and you're still full of surprises," the medical student mumbled, shaking her head in surrender.

"Chan – you are most unusual – tho," Chantho marvelled.

The Doctor shifted "Well…"

Jack rolled his eyes "So, what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?"

"We call them the Futurekind," Yana pointed out "Which is a myth in itself but it's feared they are what we will become unless we reach Utopia."

The Doctor nodded "And Utopia is?"

"Oh, every human knows Utopia," the Professor exclaimed in surprise "Where have you been?"

"Bit of a hermit," the Time Lord waved off.

Yana looked at all of us in confusion "A hermit… with friends?"

"Hermits United," the Doctor continued "We meet up every ten years and swap stories about caves. It's good fun, for a hermit." I dropped my head to Jack's shoulder and started laughing quietly. How did he always come up with the most ridiculous explanations that people actually believed? It was more than a little… well, ridiculous "So – er – Utopia?"

Yana pointed to a display on the gravitational field navigation system. At least that was what it said on the tin "The call came from across the stars, over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originating from that point."

The Doctor put on his glasses "Where is that?"

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness, out towards the Wildlands and the Dark Matter reefs, calling us in. The last of the humans scattered across the night," Yana murmured.

"What do you think is out there?"

Yana shrugged "We can't know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes," the Time Lord nodded with a grin "And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic." Yana's hands clenched around the metal of the device as he screwed up his face in pain "That's a good sign someone's out there. And that's – oh, that's a navigation matrix. So you can fly without stars to guide you." The Doctor looked to the Professor and noticed his slightly sick look "Professor? Professor."

Yana snapped out of whatever trance he had been in "I – er – ahem, right, that's enough talk." He brushed off the worried looks he was getting "There's work to do. Now, if you could leave, thank you."

The Doctor looked at him carefully "You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Yana nodded "And busy."

"Except that rocket is not going to fly, is it?" the Time Lord asked, already knowing the answer. Yana froze with his hands on some switches "This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working."

"We'll find a way," the Professor shot back.

The Doctor stepped forward "You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there, they still think they're going to fly."

Yana swallowed "Well, it's better to let them live in hope."

"Quite right, too," the Doctor inclined his head "And I must say, Professor – er – what was it?"

"Yana."

The Time Lord continued "Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, mus circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?" He took his sonic to the end of a cable and pulled. Almost immediately, power surged through the machines.

"Chan – it's working – tho," Chantho breathed.

Yana opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could finally form words "But how did you do that?"

"Oh, we've been chatting away, I forgot to tell you," he sent the older man a cheeky grin "I'm brilliant."

" _All passengers prepare for boarding,_ " the voice of the guard from earlier echoed through the room " _I repeat, all passengers prepare for immediate boarding. Destination, Utopia._ " The Doctor coordinated what everyone should do, mostly telling Martha and me to fetch something or plug in one thing or another " _All troops report to silo. I repeat, all troops report to silo._ "

Martha gestured to the corridor "I'll help out there. I don't think I'm much use here."

"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked her, looking up from what I was doing.

"No, you stay here. I'll be fine."

" _All passengers prepare for immediate boarding. All passengers prepare for immediate boarding._ "

The Doctor was standing by a grouping of wires when he froze, sniffing at one of them "Is this…?"

"Yes, gluten extract," Yana nodded "Binds the neutralino map together."

"That's food," the Time Lord exclaimed "You've built this system out of food and string and staples?" He shook his head in wonder "Professor Yana, you're a genius."

The man glanced over with a deadpan expression "Says the man who made it work."

"Oh, it's easy coming in at the end," the Doctor pointed out "But you're stellar. This is – this is magnificent. And I don't often say that because, well, because of me."

I leaned on his shoulder "He's right. He doesn't often say that," I agreed "He was trying to compliment a friend of mine a while ago and told me that he was good at stuff."

"Stuff?" Jack snorted "Really?"

"Apparently that was all he got," I laughed.

The Doctor shoved me off lightly "Could the two of you stop ganging up on me? We've got things to do."

Yana didn't seem to notice our friendly argument. He was staring into space "Well, even my title is an affectation," he muttered "There hasn't been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I've spent my life going from one refugee ship to another."

"If you'd been born in a different time, you'd be revered," the Time Lord smiled "I mean it. Throughout the galaxies."

Yana chuckled wetly "Oh, those damned galaxies. They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice. Yes, just a little, just once."

"Well, you've got it now," the Doctor murmured, squeezing the man's shoulder gently "But that footprint engine thing. You can't activate it from onboard. It's got to be from here." He looked at the man in respect "You're staying behind."

Yana nodded and looked over at where Chantho was working "With Chantho. She won't leave without me. Simply refuses."

The Doctor looked over as well "You'd give your life so they could fly."

"Oh, I think I'm a little too old for Utopia," the man shrugged "Time I had some sleep."

" _Professor, tell the Doctor we've found his blue box,_ " the guard called out.

The Doctor's face lit up "Ah!"

Jack waved him over and pointed to the monitor that showed the Tardis "Doctor?"

"Professor, it's a wild stab in the dark but I may just have found you a way out," the Time Lord exclaimed happily.

A little while later, just after the Tardis had been brought into the laboratory, I was lying on the couch that was standing against one of the walls. There was nothing I could do at the moment, so I decided to stay out of the way. I lifted my arm from where it had been over my eyes when Jack leaned his back against the edge near my head "So, how have you been in the last… How many years?"

"Two," I murmured, burying my hand in my friend's hair "It's been two years. And I'm fine."

"And you haven't told him yet, have you?" Jack demanded quietly, looking over to where the Doctor was still working.

I scoffed "He knows. The kisses were a pretty good indicator. That and we had a talk about it a few days ago."

"You kissed?" The Captain let out a strangled noise "Then why aren't you two… You know?"

"You don't get it," I mumbled, curling up a little more "I've seen what… love does to people and I don't want that, Jack. I can't want that."

He turned around "Hey," he sighed softly "Why don't you give it a chance at least? I don't know everything about what you've seen but it's worth it. Especially if it's been going on as long as it has between you and the Doctor."

"You think so?" I whispered, my eyes drifting to where the Time Lord was "He said the same thing but I just don't want to lose what we have now."

"And you won't," the Captain pointed out "The two of you can make it work. Hell, from what I've seen you have been unknowingly dating for a while now."

I let out a small laugh "Unknowingly dating?"

"You wouldn't believe how often that happens," he nodded sagely.

I flicked him in the head lightly "You're an idiot."

"But a handsome one," he bantered back.

"Maybe," I shot back "Enough about me… Is there anyone in your life?"

Jack shifted and licked his lips "Maybe. I mean, yes but I think I messed it up."

"Messed it up?" I asked "What happened?"

With that Jack told me what happened "There's this guy. One of my teammates. Ianto Jones. He is the epitome of everything I could have ever hoped for but… I was too focused on other things, so I'm a bit worried that it might be too late now." He told me everything that he did and didn't do.

Some of the parts he told me made me want to slap my oblivious friend. That whole thing with his other coworker and all the stories of his past exploits weren't going to help him in the matter either. It was typically Jack but he had to understand that the 21st century was different. Here you were either all in or risked a rocky relationship. No going off for that bit on the side or whatever it was that Jack normally did "I suggest that you tell him all that, Jack. Be open with him and tell him how you feel. I know that it gets harder the older you get but… Don't shut him out. I think he's good for you. Also… It really helps to open up to someone once in a while. Keeping everything bottled inside is the worst thing you could do. Please, do yourself a favour and don't end up like the Doctor and I."

"You could come and meet him when we get back?" Jack offered suddenly "I mean, I would love to introduce the girl who is as good as my sister to the man who is as good as my lover."

I laughed again "You're such a dork."

"Jack, Ty," the Doctor called out, lugging a thick cable from the Tardis "I need your help over here. Can you connect that to the console, Tyra? I'll do it on this end. Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting. Jack, you're in charge of the retro feeds."

I walked into the Tardis when I heard Martha and Chantho coming back, the medical student letting out a relieved sigh " _Oh, am I glad to see that thing._ "

" _Chan – Professor, are you alright – tho?_ " Chantho questioned worriedly while I connected everything on this end. There wasn't a lot to do, so I could manage on my own. I had gotten a bit better with technology concerning the Tardis but most of what the Doctor did, other than flying her or other simple repairs and connections were still way over my head.

" _Yes, I'm fine,_ " Yana murmured quietly " _I'm fine. Just get on with it._ "

I walked back outside in time to see Jack handing Martha some circuits "Connect those circuits into the spar, same as that last lot. But quicker."

The medical student looked at him in surprise "Ooo, yes, sir."

"You don't have to keep working," the Doctor told Yana "We can handle it."

"It's just a headache," the man waved off "It's just – just noise inside my head, Doctor. Constant noise inside my head."

The Time Lord raised his eyebrow "What sort of noise?"

"It's the sound of drums." That made my head snap around. I caught the Doctor's eyes and tilted my head in question. I remembered what he had told me before about his former best friend and the noise inside his head. This couldn't be a coincidence, could it? The Doctor just shook his head, dismissing the possibility "More and more, as though it's getting closer."

"When did it start?" the Time Lord questioned, a little bit leery whether he believed in the possibility or not.

Yana looked up "Oh, I've had it all my life. Every waking hour." He smiled, shaking his head "Still, no rest for the wicked."

"What are you doing now?" I asked Jack, trying to ignore Martha and Chantho giggling behind me. Really, Martha was such a girl sometimes.

Another little while later, the guard called out. I turned to the monitor that showed the Tardis earlier but it was black " _Professor._ _Systems are down. Professor, are you getting me?_ "

Yana hurried to the monitor, making it flicker into life "I'm here," the man nodded "We're ready. Now all you need to do is connect the couplings, then we can launch." The guard's face disappeared, causing Yana to curse "God sake. This equipment. Needs rebooting all the time."

"Anything I can do?" Martha asked "I've finished that lot."

"Yes, if you could." Yana gestured to a button next to where he was standing "Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes."

The medical student nodded "Certainly, sir. Just don't ask me to do shorthand."

" _Are you still there?_ " the guard called.

Yana nodded "Present and correct. Send your man inside. We'll keep the levels down from here."

In the control room, the guard disappeared for a moment before coming back " _He's inside. And good luck to him._ "

"Captain, keep the dials below the red," Yana called out to where Jack and I were standing.

The Doctor leaned over the older man's shoulder "Where is that room?"

"It's underneath the rocket," Yana explained "Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation."

"Stet?" the Time Lord blinked "Never heard of it."

"You wouldn't want to," Yana chuckled "But it's safe enough if we can hold the radiation back from here." They quieted down, watching the monitor as an alarm sounded "It's rising. Nought point two. Keep it level."

Jack nodded, a look of concentration on his face "Yes, sir."

"Chan – we're losing power – tho," Chantho called out just after the second connection was made."

The Doctor grimaced "Radiation's rising."

"We've lost control," Jack shouted over to the others.

"The chamber's going to flood," Yana breathed.

The Time Lord whirled around "Jack, override the vents."

Jack went to do as he said, pulling out two power cables "We can jump-start the override."

"Don't," the Doctor called out in alarm "It's going to flare." I ducked to the side as power surged through Jack as he held the live ends together. I had been a little too close to him, so I rubbed at my leg trying to stop the tingling. Jack was lying on the ground, dead, by now.

Martha fell to her knees next to the Captain for a second time today "I've got him."

"Chan – Don't touch the cables – tho," Chantho warned, getting one of them away. I made quick work of the other, hiding the sparking end where no one would accidentally touch it.

Yana looked down at the dead man "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?" the Doctor asked, a considering look on his face as Martha started giving Jack mouth-to-mouth.

"Without the couplings, the engines will never start," Yana mumbled, slumping in defeat "It was all for nothing."

"Oh, I don't know," the Time Lord smirked "Martha, leave him."

The medical student ignored him "You've got to let me try."

"Come on, come one," the Doctor pulled her away, making space for me to kneel down next to Jack, ready for him to wake up again "Just listen to me." He looked back at the older man "It strikes me, Professor, you've got a room which no man can enter without dying. Is that correct?"

Yana nodded "Yes."

"Well," the Doctor started just as Jack gasped back to life. I caught him before he fell back to the ground "I think I've got just the man."

Jack's breathing calmed down as he slumped against me "Was someone kissing me?"

"Don't look at me," I told him, pulling him up with me, my tone turning into teasing "As if I would ever kiss you willingly."

The Doctor grabbed Jack's arm as soon as we were upright, pulling him out of the laboratory "Stay with the Professor, Ty, Martha." And they were gone.

I rolled my eyes and stretched "Well…"

"We lost the picture when that thing flared," Martha murmured, as Yana was still staring at the place Jack had woken up a few minutes ago "Doctor, are you there?"

" _Receiving, yeah,_ " the Doctor answered almost immediately " _He's inside._ "

Martha blinked "And still alive?"

The Doctor hummed " _Oh, yes._ "

"But he should evaporate," Yana mused "What sort of a man is he?"

The medical student shrugged "I've only just met him. The Doctor sort of travels through time and space and picks people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs."

"Aren't we?" I asked, sitting back down on the sofa "Also, I'm not a hundred percent sure what happened to Jack either. The Doctor never told me everything. Only that he was alive."

Yana looked from me to Martha "He travels in time?"

Martha nodded "Don't ask me to explain it." She pointed to the Tardis, still focussed on the monitor "That's a Tardis, that box thing. The sports car of time travel, he says." I looked at the Professor who was staring at the Tardis with a look close to recognition in his eyes. There was no way I was going to draw attention to it though because I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out whether my suspicions were true or not.

" _When did you first realise?_ " the Doctor asked, sounding further away from the monitor than before.

Jack's voice was a little more muffled but clear nevertheless " _Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange. But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation, a stray javelin. In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die. And all that time you knew._ "

" _That's why I left you behind,_ " the Doctor murmured " _It's not easy even just looking at you, Jack, because you're wrong._ "

" _Thanks._ " The scoff in Jack's voice was obvious.

The Doctor was quiet for a moment " _You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my gut. You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. That's never meant to happen. Even the Tardis reacted against you, tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe to get rid of you._ "

" _So,_ " Jack groaned " _What you're saying is that you're – er – prejudiced?_ "

" _I never thought of it like that,_ " the Time Lord admitted quietly.

" _Shame on you,_ " the Captain huffed " _I take it you didn't tell Tyra_ _the truth from the way she reacted_ _. What did you tell her?_ "

The Doctor sighed " _The same thing I told Rose. That you were fine and that you stayed behind to help._ "

" _And she believed that?_ "

" _I think she was just glad that you weren't dead,_ " the Doctor murmured " _She heard you die, Jack. Heard you being shot by that Dalek._ "

Jack let out a breath " _Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life. What happened?_ "

" _Rose._ "

" _I thought you'd sent her back home,_ " Jack demanded, sounding slightly confused. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, staring at the ground by my feet. I should have known that something was wrong with what the Doctor told me, that he wasn't telling me something. Well, I did know that but I should have kept asking… Maybe then Jack wouldn't have been left behind. Although – Then Jack wouldn't have met his Ianto, so maybe it was a good thing.

The Doctor snorted " _She came back. Opened the heart of the Tardis and absorbed the time vortex._ "

" _What does that mean, exactly?_ "

" _No one's ever meant to have that power,_ " the Time Lord explained " _If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god. A vengeful god. But she was human. Everything she did was so human. She brought you back to life but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose._ " He let out a long sigh " _The final act of the Time War was life._ "

Jack was quiet for a moment " _Do you think she could change me back?_ "

The Doctor made a negative sound " _I took the power out of her. She's gone, Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world, she's trapped there. The walls have closed."_

" _I went back to her estate,_ " Jack murmured " _In the nineties, just once or twice. Watched her growing up. Never said hello. Timelines and all that. Although I met some very interesting people in New Orleans._ _Early twentieth century_ _. Let's just say that Tyra is nothing like her family and leave it at that. Kol is kind of good-looking though._ "

I let out a groan and buried my face in my hands when Martha shot me an amused look "Oh, God," I mumbled.

" _You met Kol?_ " the Doctor asked in amusement " _How did that turn out?_ "

" _You don't want to know,_ " Jack shook his head, the grimace obvious in his voice.

The Time Lord let out a small laugh " _You slept with him, didn't you?_ _Not that I can say that I blame you. From what I've seen Kol is right up your alley._ " Jack was quiet and the amusement faded from the Doctor's voice " _Do you want to die?_ "

" _Oh, this one's a little stuck,_ " Jack grumbled, avoiding the topic.

" _Jack?_ "

Jack swallowed " _I thought I did. I don't know. But this lot. You see them out here surviving and that's fantastic._ "

" _You might be out there, somewhere,_ " the Doctor pointed out. I shook my head, pressing my eyes closed. At least, he hadn't been alone when he died.

" _I could go meet myself._ "

The Doctor scoffed " _Only man you're ever going to be happy with._ "

" _This new regeneration, it's kind of cheeky,_ " Jack laughed.

"I never understand half the things he says." Martha turned away from the monitor, looking at Yana who was staring blankly "What's wrong?"

Chantho placed her hand on the man's shoulder "Chan – Professor, what is it – tho?"

"Time travel," Yana marvelled "They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know?" He fiddled with a watch that he pulled out of his pocket "Stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked. Time and time and time again. Always running out on me."

Martha stared at the watch with wide eyes "Can I have a look at that?"

"Oh," Yana blinked "It's only an old relic. Like me."

"Where did you get it?" she asked as I got up, wandering over to them.

Yana shrugged "I was found with it. An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned, with only this."

"Have you opened it?" Martha questioned.

I sent her a sharp look "Martha, don't."

"Why would I?" the Professor questioned "It's broken."

"How do you know it's broken if you've never opened it?"

I grabbed her arm "Martha, I'm serious. Don't."

Just then, Martha turned the watch over and saw the inscription. I cursed internally. So much for not wanting to find out about my suspicions. The medical student swallowed "I – Erm… I'm going to see if the Doctor needs me. Ty?"

"I'll stay here," I told her quietly, seeing that Yana was staring at the watch in his hands. This was bad. I really hoped that he wasn't the Master but something told me that I was right.

Chantho studied the older man in concern "Chan – Yana, won't you please take some rest – tho?"

I stepped forward nervously "Maybe you should sit down," I cut in when his thumb was on the trigger "Please?"

"Chan – Professor Yana – tho?"

Something fell, causing me to whirl in that direction for a moment. That was all Yana needed to press the button and the change was instant. It might not be obvious in the body but the man's eyes changed, showing the same age that the Doctor's and mine did "Crap," I mumbled, taking a step back.

The man ignored me and moved a lever, causing the control room door to slam shut. Chantho let out a startled gasp "Chan – but you've locked them in – tho."

"Not to worry, my dear," Yana murmured "As one door closes, another must open." He turned off another switch that I couldn't recognise from where I was standing.

Chantho moved forward urgently "Chan – you must stop – tho. Chan – but you've lowered the defences. The Futurekind will get in – tho."

"Chantho, maybe you should come over here," I murmured, watching the old man warily.

She shook her head, grabbing a gun from somewhere, pointing it at the man who had his back turned towards us "Chan – Professor, I'm so sorry but I must stop you. You're destroying all our work – tho."

Yana turned, raising his eyebrow at the gun "Oh. Now I can say I was provoked." He took a hold of one of the live cables from earlier "Did you never think, all those years standing beside me, to ask about that watch? Never? Did you never once think, not ever, that you could set me free?" His gaze turned towards me "And you suspected this whole time, didn't you? What made you suspicious, hm?"

"Chan – I'm sorry – tho. Chan – I'm so sorry…"

"You," Yana sneered "With your chan and your tho driving me insane."

I snorted "A bit late for that, isn't it, Master?" I watched his face closely as I said that name.

"So you do know," the man pointed out, his eyes narrowing on me "How? Who are you?"

"Chan – Professor, please…" Chantho pleaded.

The Master whirled to her "That is not my name," he spat "The Professor was an invention. So perfect a disguise that I forgot who I am."

Chantho shrank back slightly "Chan – then who are you – tho?"

"I am the Master." He thrust the live end of the cable at Chantho, not counting on me getting in the way. I grimaced at the electricity flowing through me and fell to my knees, blacking out.

When I woke up again, I groaned in pain, earning a surprised look from the Master who was just pulling the cable out of the Tardis "What are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," I baited, hearing the Doctor just outside of the door.

The Master stalked over to me, turning me with his foot "He told you about me, didn't he? The Doctor and his human girls…" He smirked down "Although… Not so human."

" _Just open the door, please_." I heard movement to me right and turned to see Chantho lifting the gun, shooting the Master in the stomach. He stumbled away from me as the bug girl slumped, dead. I flinched when a smashing sound came from the door. The Doctor came rushing in just as the Tardis door shut behind the Master.

" _Deadlocked,_ " the Master crowed out in victory as the Doctor tried to open his ship.

"Let me in," the Doctor pleaded "Let me in."

Martha had knelt down next to Chantho "She's dead." With that, she walked over to me "Are you alright?"

I nodded "Fine."

"I broke to lock," Jack huffed from the door "Give me a hand." Martha helped me up as we walked over. I grimaced as the electricity burn on my chest was healing, leaning against the door, holding it shut more or less easily.

The Doctor hit his hand against the door "I'm begging you. Everything's changed. It's only the two of us. We're the only ones left. Just let me in."

" _Killed by an insect,_ " the Master cursed inside the Tardis " _A girl. How inappropriate. Still, if the Doctor can be young and strong, then so can I. The Master reborn._ " The Doctor stumbled back as a golden glow shone through the Tardis window " _Ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha. Oh. Now then, Doctor._ " The man paused " _Ooo, new voice. Hello, hello. Hello._ " I rolled my eyes as the other Time Lord was playing around with his voice, making it sound higher and lower " _Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me. I don't think._ "

Martha gasped, letting go of the door "Hold on. I know that voice."

"I'm asking you really properly. Just stop," the Doctor called out "Just think."

" _Use my name,_ " the Master demanded " _Your little pet already figured it out._ "

The Doctor looked at me and I shrugged "Yeah, she's smart like that. Master, I'm sorry."

" _Tough._ " The Master started up the time rotor as the Doctor stepped back some more, activating his sonic " _Oh, no, you don't. End of the universe. Have fun. Bye, bye._ "

"Doctor, stop him," the medical student shouted over the sound of the Tardis dematerialising. There was nothing the Doctor could do. Nothing but to watch the other Time Lord disappearing right in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I would love to know what you think of the Episodes revolving around the Master
> 
> 2\. What you think will and should happen in Series 4
> 
> 3\. Do you like Gwen (from Torchwood)? This question is because of some things happening in Series 4
> 
> 4\. What's your guess to the future happenings in Mystic Falls that include Tyra? Or what would you like to happen.
> 
> Thanks so much to all of you who take the time to answer this,
> 
> Nick


	27. The Sound of Drums

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Er, screw my own update schedule. I'm going to post these as I go along. Thank you for all of your Reviews and... Well, for the Master Episodes you will see what happens more in the next chapter. Be afraid, be very afraid.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

I was still leaning against the door, keeping it shut with Jack's help. More and more Futurekind tried to get the door open but so far I was able to keep it close. The Doctor grabbed Jack's arm, using the sonic on the Captain's vortex manipulator "Hold still," the Time Lord huffed "Don't move. Hold it still."

"I'm telling you, it's broken," the ex-Time Agent argued "It hasn't worked for years."

"That's because you didn't have me," the Doctor shot back "Martha, Ty, grab hold, now." With all of us holding onto the manipulator, we vanished.

I gritted my teeth against the feeling of the Time Vortex burning against my skin a little before I fell to the ground. Martha held onto a wall, holding her head tightly "Oh, my head."

The Doctor cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders "Time travel without a capsule. That's a killer."

"Are you alright, Ty?" Jack asked with an amused grin on his face.

"I was leaning against the door," I huffed, climbing to my feet "There wasn't much I could do but fall."

Jack nodded, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, walking out of the alley "Still, at least we made it. Earth, twenty-first century by the looks of it. Talk about lucky."

"That wasn't luck," the Time Lord pointed out quietly, looking around "That was me."

"The moral is," the Captain spoke up, rolling his eyes at the Doctor "If you're going to get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator.

Martha turned to the Doctor "But this Master bloke, he's got the Tardis. He could be anywhere in time and space."

"No," the Doctor denied "He's here. Trust me."

"Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn't the Professor," the medical student questioned.

Jack raised his eyebrow "If the Master's a Time Lord, then he must have regenerated."

"What does that mean?"

"You two haven't explained it to her yet?" Jack frowned "Anyway… It means that he's changed his face, voice, body, everything. New man."

I glanced to the side where a beggar was tapping a coin against his mug in slight annoyance. For some reason, that noise really bothered me. Martha tugged a strand of hair behind her ear "Then how are we going to find him?"

"I'll know him," the Doctor said "The moment I see him. Time Lords always do."

"But hold on," the medical student froze "If he could be anyone, we missed the election…" Her eyes widened in realization "But it can't be."

A series of public television screen on several lamp posts in front of us were broadcasting the news " _Mister Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters._ " I raised my eyebrow at the familiar man walking down the steps with a woman holding onto his arm.

"I said I knew the voice," Martha breathed "When he spoke inside the Tardis… I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon."

The Doctor stared at the screen without blinking "That's him," he pointed out quietly "He's Prime Minister." As a photographer on the screen begged the couple for a kiss, the Doctor blinked in shock "The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Master and his wife?"

"Wait," I cut in, jabbing my finger at the screen "Are you absolutely sure that he's the Master?"

"Yes," the Time Lord nodded, frowning at me in confusion "Why?"

I bit my lip, a little unsure of what I was about to say "Because I met him before."

The other three stopped and stared at me in surprise "When? How? You were with me the whole time, weren't you?" the Doctor questioned.

"That day," I started "At the Lazarus Laboratories. You two ran off to get Tish and I was talking to your mother." I nodded to Martha "Trying to get her to calm down a little. He came up to us."

"He was talking to my mother?" the other girl questioned, panic and a hint of anger swinging in her voice "How come you didn't hear his hearts?"

I stepped back a little, surprised at her tone "Because we were in a room full of people and I honestly didn't pay attention to any heartbeats."

"Martha," the Doctor warned, shooting the medical student a look to tell her to calm down "Tell me everything, Ty."

"There wasn't much," I shrugged "It just seemed like he knew me somehow. Like he knew everything. He felt wrong somehow but I didn't have enough time to think about it since the two of you were coming back. The only thing I was told was that he was called Mr Saxon and was running for Prime Minister. The whole meeting thing seemed to amuse him to no end though."

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair "This is bad…"

"That means he definitely arrived before us," Jack pointed out.

"It seems that way," the Time Lord nodded "Even if the Master was always adept at… messing with people. Something of this scale needs time."

I glanced at him "He has the Tardis. Wouldn't that mean that he had enough time?"

"I don't know," the Doctor sighed "I really don't."

"Come on," Martha waved "We can talk about this at mine."

All of a sudden, my phone beeped and I frowned. Not many people would text me apart from emergencies. I pulled it out and blinked.

"What's going on?" Jack frowned, looking over my shoulder.

"One of the… my friends here in London needs something from me," I explained, fingers flying over the keyboard on the screen. When the Doctor grabbed my wrist to stop me from sending the message I had just written "I'll just tell them to contact the main group."

The Time Lord nodded "Good. Come on. Let's get out of the streets." He glanced at the screen again that had switched from the Master back to the newscaster.

It didn't take us long to reach Martha's building. Around fifteen minutes or so. The medical student let out a long sigh when she stepped into her apartment "Home."

"What have you got?" the Doctor asked, looking around "Computer, laptop, anything?" He noticed Jack pressing his phone to his ear "Jack, who are you phoning? You can't tell anyone we're here."

"Just some friends of mine," the Captain shook his head "But there's no reply."

Martha quickly grabbed her laptop and walked over to the Doctor "Here you go. Any good?"

Jack grabbed it from her "I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages."

"That's so weird though," Martha remarked, looking at the date that was showing on screen "It's the day after the election. That's only four days after I met you."

"Fascinating how time passes when you travel through time, isn't it?" I asked, perching myself on the armrest next to Jack.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair "We went flying all around the universe while he was here all the time."

"You doing to tell us who he is?" Martha asked, raising her eyebrows.

"He's a Time Lord," the Doctor gestured, not expanding on the fact.

The other girl rolled her eyes "What about the rest of it? I mean, who'd call himself the Master?"

"That's all you need to know," the Doctor pointed out, shaking his head at me when I was about to open my mouth. He turned his attention to Jack while Martha wandered off to her blinking answering machine "Come on, show me Harold Saxon."

" _Martha, where are you?"_ Tish's voice sounded through the speakers " _I've got this new job. You won't believe it. It's weird. They just phones me out of the blue. I'm working for…_ "

Her voice cut off abruptly when Martha switched the machine back off "Oh like it matters."

Next to me, Jack clicked on the video that was the first thing that popped up on the page " _I'm voting Saxon,_ " Sharon Osbourne smiled on the laptop. I shuddered. For some reason I couldn't stand that woman. Maybe it was because of those whole talent shows but I really didn't care for her " _He can tick my box any day._ "

" _Vote Saxon,_ " a group of guys called out " _Go Harry._ "

Another woman came onto the screen and I vaguely recognized but I really couldn't remember her name or what she was doing for work. Behind her was the Master smiling down at her " _I think Mister Saxon is exactly what this country needs. He's a very fine man._ " She looked up at him for a moment " _And he's handsome too._ "

"Former Minister of Defence," Jack explained when the video ended "First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve." The Captain grinned "Nice work, by the way."

I snorted "Yeah, draining the Thames was such a brilliant plan."

"Hey," the Doctor huffed "It's not like that was part of the plan."

"It never is," I shook my head "But somehow stuff like that still happens to you."

Martha let out a noise "But he goes back years," she pointed out "He's famous. Everyone knows his story. Look. Cambridge University, Rugby blue. Won the Athletics thing. Wrote a novel, went into business, marriage, everything. He's got a whole life."

The Doctor shook his head, scrolling through the information as Jack got up to make some tea "Do you want some too, Ty?"

"Nah, I'm good," I denied, leaning back against the backrest with my legs curled beneath me.

The man nodded and continued to prepare three mugs "He's got the Tardis, right? Maybe he went back in time and has been living here for decades."

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

Jack shot him a look "Why not? Worked for me."

The Doctor licked his lips, accepting the tea with a thankful nod "When he was stealing the Tardis, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them permanently. He can only travel between the year one hundred trillion and the last place the Tardis landed. Which is right here, right now."

"Yeah, but a little leeway?"

"Well," the Time Lord muttered "Eighteen months, tops. The most he could have been here is eighteen months. So how has he managed all this?" He clenched his jaw, coming back to what we had talked about earlier "The Master was always sort of hypnotic but this is on a massive scale."

Martha's gaze was glued to the wall "I was going to vote for him."

"Really?" the Doctor blinked.

"Well," she shrugged "It was before I met you. And I liked him."

Jack nodded "Me too."

"Why do you say that? What was his policy? What did he stand for?" the Time Lord questioned, looking from Jack to Martha.

The medical student blinked, her fingers starting to tap on the mug in the same rhythm the homeless man had tapped earlier "I don't know. He always sounded good. Like… You could trust him. Just nice. He spoke about…" She wrinkled her forehead "I can't really remember but it was good. Just the sound of his voice."

I glanced at her hand "Okay, can you stop?"

"Stop what?" Martha asked, turning her head towards me, the tapping stopping instantly.

"You were tapping," the Doctor pointed out "That rhythm. Why are you doing that?"

The other girl shook her head "I don't know. It's nothing. It's just, I don't know."

I jumped in surprise when a fanfare blared out from the laptop and a pop up advertised a Saxon Broadcast on all channels. The Doctor hurried to grab the remote "Our lord and master is speaking to his kingdom."

" _Britain, Britain, Britain,_ " the Master tutted " _What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies. You've seen it happen._ " Clips from the past showed, the spaceship crashing into Big Ben, Torchwood One and the events at Christmas " _Big Ben destroyed. A spaceship over London. All those ghosts and metal men. The Christmas star that came to kill. Time and time again and the government told you nothing._ "

"What is he doing?" I frowned.

"Shh," the Doctor hissed, his eyes glued to the TV.

" _Well, not me,_ " the Master continued " _Not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose here today is to tell you this. Citizens of Great Britain, I have been contacted. A message for humanity from beyond the stars._ "

The picture flickered and a metal sphere appeared " _People of the Earth,_ " a childish female voice started " _We come in peace. We bring great gifts. We bring technology and wisdom and protection. And all wee ask in return is your friendship._ "

The Master came back on screen, pulling what was probably supposed to be a cute expression " _Ooh, sweet. And this species has identified itself. They are called the Toclafane._ "

"What?" The Doctor pushed himself to his feet as quickly as he could, his face set in confusion.

" _And tomorrow morning, they will appear. Not in secret but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take out place in the universe,_ " the Master explained, his eyes fixed on the camera as if he was trying to stare through it at us " _Every man, woman and child. Every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer. Oh, I don't know, every medical student?_ "

The Doctor turns to look at Martha, then hurried to turn the TV around, revealing several sticks of explosives strapped to the back "Out," he snapped, grabbing the laptop and my hand on the way out. As soon as the four of us were outside, the first floor exploded with a massive fireball "Alright?"

"Fine, yeah, fine," Jack gasped, staring up at the smoking building.

The Time Lord turned to Martha when she didn't say anything "Martha? What are you doing?"

"He knows about me," Martha muttered, her phone in hand "What about my family? Tyra said that he already talked to my mum. What if…?"

"Don't tell them anything," the Doctor warned when she raised her phone to her ear.

She glared at him "I'll do what I like. Mum? Oh my God. You're there."

" _Of course I'm here, sweetheart,_ " I heard Francine's voice on the other end of the line. I shook my head and walked over to Jack, drawing him into a quiet conversation. I really didn't want to listen to Martha's private conversations.

When Martha's voice changed to scared, I looked over at her. She was clutching her mobile in her hand, her knuckles already turning white "Dad?" she started, her voice trembling "Just say yes or no. Is there someone else there?"

" _Yes,_ " a man shouted on the other end of the line " _Just run._ "

There was shuffling coming from the phone before Martha's mum called out " _Clive._ "

" _Listen to me,_ " Martha's dad shouted " _Just run. I don't know who they are._ "

" _We're trying to help her,_ " Francine argued quietly " _Martha, don't listen to him._ "

Martha ignored her mother's words "Dad?" she shouted "What's going on? Dad?" She stared down at her phone when the dial tone sounded "We have got to help them."

"That's exactly what they want. It's a trap," the Doctor sighed, obviously feeling bad for just saying it.

"I don't care," the girl hissed, stalking off to her car. The Doctor, Jack and I exchanged glances before climbing into the car with her.

Martha sped down the road, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic while overtaking the people that were too slow for her. In the front seat, the Doctor was practically hugging the door handle "Corner," he exclaimed.

"Come on, Tish," Martha muttered, glancing from the road to her phone back "Pick up."

It took a moment before her sister picked up " _Martha, I can't talk right now,_ " Tish sighed on the other end of the line " _We just made first contact. Did you see?_ " There was a moment of silence before Tish gasped " _What are you doing? Get off! Linda, tell them…_ "

"What's happening?" Martha questioned worriedly "Tish!" When the line disconnected again, she whirled to glare at the Doctor "It's your fault. It's all your fault."

When we sped around another corner, we could see several police men trying to get Martha's mother into the police van where a man was already sitting. The Doctor inhaled sharply when they all seemed to turn to face us "Martha," he hissed "Reverse." The men aimed and the Time Lord grabbed a hold of the medical student's shoulder "Get out, now."

Martha turned just as bullets slammed into the rear window. Jack and I ducked sharply to avoid being hit by bullets and glass alike "Move it," Jack snapped.

"The only place we can go planet Earth," the other girl said through gritted teeth "Great."

"Careful," the Doctor yelped when Martha swerved dangerously. I was biting my lip, unsure of what to say or do. On one hand, I wanted to make sure that Martha was feeling better but considering the circumstances, I thought it was safer to keep quiet.

Jack leaned forward "Martha," he started, his voice low "Listen to me. Do as I say. We've got to ditch this car. Pull over. Right now."

A few minutes later, we were out of the car. It was standing at the end of an underpass, out of view from just about everyone and everything if they didn't come down here specifically "Martha," the Doctor called from further down "Come on."

It had just started to rain as Martha made yet another phone call. Well, one thing I was really happy about was that I didn't have to be worried about my family. They could take care of themselves "Leo," the other girl sighed, her shoulders dropping in relief "Oh, thank God. Leo, you got to listen to me. Where are you?"

" _I'm in Brighton,_ " I heard him say " _Yeah, we came down with Boxer. Did you see that Saxon thing on telly?_ "

"Leo," Martha cut him off "Just listen to me. Don't go home. I'm telling you. Don't phone Mum or Dad or Tish. You've got to hide."

"This is a mess," I muttered, coming to stand next to the Doctor.

He ran a hand through his hair "This shouldn't have happened," he muttered.

"Nothing you can do about it now," I shrugged.

Jack nodded in agreement "This isn't your fault. You didn't ask for the Master to go after Martha's family."

"But if not for me, Martha wouldn't have been…"

"Stop," I interrupted "Just… Stop, okay? You're not helping anyone with your misplaced guilt."

My head snapped up when Martha's voice got louder "Let them go, Saxon. Do you hear me." The Doctor moved forward quickly "Let them go."

"I'm here," he murmured, taking the phone from the other girl.

" _Doctor,_ " the Master whispered.

The Doctor clenched his jaw for a moment "Master."

" _I like it when you use my name,_ " the other Time Lord said. I grimaced. That… was just weird. Really weird.

"You chose it," the Doctor reminded "Psychiatrist's field day. _"_

The Master snorted " _As you chose yours. The man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that?_ "

"You're one to talk," I scoffed quietly, shaking my head at Jack and Martha's questioning looks "They talking about their chosen names."

"So…" the Doctor drew out "Prime Minister, then."

" _I know,_ " the Master gave back smugly " _It's good, isn't it?_ "

The Doctor rolled his eyes, shooting me a look before walking a little further away from us "Who are those creatures? Because there's no such thing as the Toclafane. It's just a made-up name, like the Bogeyman."

I tilted my head, trying to hear what the Master's response was. I groaned "Damn. I guess that was it, then."

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"I can't hear the Master any more," I explained with a small huff.

Martha ran a hand through her hair and started pacing "It's all his fault."

"Is it, though?" I asked, looking at her intently.

"If I hadn't met you…"

I closed my eyes "True. But you forget that it was your choice to come along. I get that you think it's the Doctor's fault but… This is on the Master. And only on him."

Martha deflated "I know that. But I can't help but think…"

"I get it," I told her "But be honest with yourself. Would you have given all this up if you had known that this would happen?"

"No," the other girl whispered "I would have made sure that my family was safe but I wouldn't have told you to leave without me."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, steering her towards the pacing Time Lord "You see? It doesn't make the situation better but… Well, we can try to get this resolved somehow."

"What have you done?" the Doctor exclaimed, his grip on the phone tightening as he looked at all the people around us who started tapping the same beat Martha had earlier "Tell me how you've done this. What are those creatures? Tell me!"

" _Ooh,_ " the Master cooed playfully " _Look. You're on TV._ "

We came to a stop in front of a window front that held a couple of TVs, all showing the same thing. Us. Well, us on the news "Stop it," the Doctor huffed "Answer me."

" _No, really. You're on telly. You and your little band, which, by the way, is ticking every demographic box. So, congratulations on that. Look, there you are._ "

As the Master trailed off, the newscaster could be heard speaking through the glass " _Knowns as the Captain. They are known to be armed and extremely dangerous._ "

The other Time Lord laughed " _You're public enemies number one, two, three and four. Oh, and you can tell handsome Jack that I've sent his little gang off on aa wild goose chase to the Himalayas, so he won't be getting any help from them._ " Both the Doctor and I looked at Jack who returned our looks with confusion " _Now, go on, off you go. Why not start by turning to the… right?_ "

I immediately noticed the CCTV camera "Over there," I murmured, pointing at it.

"He can see us," the Doctor said, zapping the CCTV with his sonic.

" _Oh, you public menace,_ " the Master chided " _Better start running. You and your… pets. Go on, run._ "

The Doctor lowered his phone "He's got control of everything."

"What do we do?" Martha whispered, looking around.

Jack licked his lips and shook his head "We've got nowhere to go."

Martha was still looking at the Doctor who was standing there, shell-shocked "Doctor, what do we do?"

" _Run, Doctor,_ " the Master yelled " _Run for your life._ "

I wasn't sure whether the Doctor actually heard the other Time Lord but he sighed, hanging up the phone "We run."

And run we did. It took a while but soon we found an abandoned warehouse that had been empty long enough for there to not be any cameras around. We all tried to relax for a little while before things would inadvertently go to hell.

"How was it?" Jack asked when Martha returned with a bag of takeaway about thirty minutes after she left.

She set the bag down "I don't think anyone saw me. Anything new?"

Jack tapped his Vortex Manipulator "I've got this turned to government wavelengths so we can follow what Saxon's doing."

"Yeah," Martha rolled her eyes "I meant about my family."

"It still says the Jones family was taken in for questioning," the Doctor replied, looking up from the laptop. When the medical student's face fell, he quickly added "Tell you what, though. No mention of Leo."

A small smile stole its way across her face "He's not as daft as he looks." She shook her head in wonder "I'm talking about my brother on the run. How did this happen?"

"Nice chips," Jack murmured, shoving one of the fries into his mouth, effectively changing the subject.

"Actually, they're not bad," the Doctor nodded, holding out his bag to me. I hadn't really been hungry, so I didn't have a portion of my own. Instead of taking one, I plopped down onto the floor next to the Doctor.

The Captain tilted his head "So, Doctor, who is he? How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?"

"And what is he to you?" Martha added "Like a colleague or…"

"A friend," the Doctor finished for her "At first."

The other girl let out a breath "I thought you were going to say he was your secret brother or something."

"You've been watching too much TV," the Time Lord shook his head.

"But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect," Jack whispered.

The Doctor leaned his head back, while I leaned my head against his thigh "Well," he started and cleared his throat "Perfect to look at, maybe. And it was. It was beautiful. The hand he hadn't been eating with dropped down to play with a few strands of my hair absentmindedly "They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the Continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords, the oldest and most mighty race in the universe, looking down on the galaxies below. Sworn never to interfere, only to watch." The Doctor paused for a moment, letting the words sink in as he tried to gather his thoughts. I closed my eyes, letting the familiar story wash over me "Children of Gallifrey, taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy. And some say that's when it all began. When he was a child. That's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation. He stood in front of the Untempered Schism. It's a gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. You stand there, eight years old, staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired, some would run away and some would go mad. I don't know…"

"What about you?" Martha asked curiously.

"Oh, the ones that ran away," he shrugged "I never stopped."

At that moment, Jack's bracelet beeped, starling all of us "Encrypted channel with files attached," he mumbled "Don't recognise it…"

The Doctor straightened up, throwing the bag his fries had been in away "Patch it through to the laptop."

"Since we're telling stories," Jack grimaced sheepishly "There's something I haven't told you." As he said that, the Torchwood logo appeared on the screen of the laptop.

"You work for Torchwood," the Doctor realized, his expression darkening.

Jack swallowed nervously, looking up at the man pleadingly "I swear to you, it's different. It's changed. There's only half a dozen of us now."

"Everything Torchwood did," the Time Lord ranted quietly "And you're part of it?"

I placed my hand on his arm "Doctor, you know Jack. Do you really think he would have been part of that? Hell, he should know better than to mess with something like that. I trust that he had nothing to do with it… You should too."

The Captain smiled at me "The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf. I rebuilt it, I changed it and when I did that, I did it for you. In your honour."

The Doctor was silent before simply hitting the play button without another word. A woman popped up, recording herself on a webcam " _If I haven't returned to my desk by twenty-two hundred, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means if you're watching this, then I'm…_ " She trailed off, shaking her head dismissively " _Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started. When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network._ "

"What's the Archangel Network?" the Doctor blinked in confusion.

"I've got Archangel," Martha pointed out, gesturing to her phone. Everyone's got it."

Jack hummed "It's a mobile phone network. Because look, it's gone worldwide." A simulations showed on the screen "They've got fifteen satellites in orbit. Even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel."

The Doctor hit his head in something akin to realization "It's in the phone," he exclaimed, grabbing Martha's phone "Oh, I said he was a hypnotist. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on." He sonicked the phone, placing it on the table when it started beating. A four-beat rhythm echoed through the warehouse "There it is. That rhythm, it's everywhere, ticking away in the subconsciousness."

"What is it, mind control?" the other girl asked, staring down at her phone with wide eyes.

The Doctor shook his head "No, no, no, no, no. It's subtler than that. Any stronger and people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code." He closed his eyes for a moment "Vote Saxon. Believe in me. Whispering to the world. Oh, yes. That's how he hid himself from me, because I should have sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth. I should have known way back. The signal cancelled him out."

I frowned "Does that mean that he arrived on Earth while we were most likely somewhere else… And launched the Network before we got back to Earth? That must have been really, really good timing though."

"Incredibly good," the Doctor nodded.

"Wait, eighteen months… That would have been. Around Christmas? Where you regenerated, no?" I quickly did the Math and shivered.

Jack tilted his head "That would fit. Archangels went up at the beginning of 2007, not quite a month after the Sycorax came here."

"Considering how out of it you were, I wouldn't have been surprised if you just didn't notice him," I told the Doctor.

"Is there any way you can stop it?" Jack asked, gesturing to the screen.

The Doctor shook his head "Not from down here. But now we know how he's going it."

"And we can fight back," Martha pointed out.

"Oh, yes," the Time Lord grinned. He bent over the phone "I need your keys for this…" The three of us handed them over, watching as he welded parts of the laptop and phone to the Tardis keys with his sonic. After half an hour, he nodded in satisfaction "Four Tardis keys," he explained, gesturing to the table "Four pieces of the Tardis, all with low-level perception properties because the Tardis is designed to blend in." He grimaced "Well, sort of. But now, the Archangel Network's got a second low-level signal. Weld the key to the network and… Martha, look at me. You can see me, yes?"

Martha raised her eyebrow "Yes?"

The Doctor grabbed one of the keys and put the string around his neck "How about now?" When Martha's eyes trailed past him, he waved his arms "No, I'm here. Look at me."

"It's like I know you're there but I don't want to know," the medical student murmured, pressing her fingers over her eyes "It's making me dizzy."

The Doctor took off the key "And back again. See? It just shifts your perception a tiny little bit. Doesn't make us invisible, just unnoticed."

"So… instead of being magic, you managed to get a similar result using science?" I murmured "That's… Kinda cool."

"Isn't it just?" the Doctor questioned excitedly "Come on." We all grabbed a key and hurried after him "Don't run," he explained, walking down a road "Don't shout. Just keep your voice down. Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows."

Jack nodded grimly "Like ghosts."

"Yeah," the Doctor mumbled "That's what we are. Ghosts."

We stopped at a store front that held a TV and stepped to the side, letting some people walk past without running into us " _And as the eyes of the world turn towards Great Britain, sources indicate that Air Force One has landed on British soil tonight,_ " the news guy explained, making the Doctor startled.

"Come on. I think I know where we'll find the Master," he told us, walking off.

The four of us reached the airport at the same time as the Prime Minister's car came to a stop. We ducked behind a couple of crates and watch as the President walked up to the Master who was saluting the man mockingly "Mister President, sir."

"Mister Saxon," the President greeted coldly "The British Army will stand down. From now on, UNIT has control of this operation."

"You make it sound like an invasion," the Master raised his eyebrows, amusement hidden in his eyes.

President Winters gritted his teeth "First Contact policy was decided by the Security Council in 1969 and you've just gone and ignored it."

The Master shrugged "Well, you know what it's like. New job, all that paperwork. I think it's down the back of the settee. I did have a quick look. I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket and…" He trailed off when he noticed that the President was steaming. I couldn't quite hold back the snort of amusement. Maybe if he had been someone else, the two of us could have gotten along great "Have you met the wife?"

"Mister Saxon, I'm not sure what your game is but there are provisions at the United Nations to have you removed from office unless you are very, very careful," Winters pointed out, crossing his arms "Is that understood?" The Master zipped up his lips and threw the invisible key away "Are you taking this seriously?" Saxon nodded, his face set.

I suppressed the small laugh that wanted to escape me "Well," I whispered "He certainly likes pissing people off."

"To business," Winters sighed "We've accessed your files on these… Toclafane. First Contact cannot take place on any sovereign soil. To that purpose, the aircraft carried Valiant is en route. The rendezvous will take place there at eight am." When the Master just gave a thumbs up, Winters sighed "You're trying my patience, sir."

The Master unzipped his lips "So America is completely in charge?"

"Since Britain elected an ass, yes," the President nodded "I'll see you onboard the Valiant." With that, he stormed past the other Time Lord but stopped when he spoke up.

"It sill will be televised, though, won't it?" the Master asked, turning around "Because I promised and the whole world is watching."

Winters closed his eyes for a moment "Since it's too late to pull out, the world will be watching. Me."

The Master stared after him, his arms wrapped around his wife's waist "The last President of America." He nodded to the plane next to them "We have a private plane ready and waiting. We should reach the Valiant within the hour." As his wife left with her security guard, the Master turned towards us, looking in our general direction.

"Are you sure he can't see us?" I breathed, shifting a little to get more comfortable.

The Doctor shrugged "We can only hope so. He shouldn't be able to…"

"Shouldn't and can't are two very different things," I pointed out.

Martha startled and would have lurched forward if Jack and I hadn't grabbed a hold of her as a police van arrived. Her parents were bundled out and met by the – too – excited Master "Ha ha ha. Hi, guys."

"You can't just do this," Martha's father exclaimed, fighting against the hands that were holding him.

"All will be revealed," the other Time Lord waved off.

The medical student shuddered "Oh, my God. I'm going to kill him."

Jack grunted in agreement "What day I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?"

"Now, that sounds like Torchwood," the Doctor huffed.

The Captain shrugged unapologetically "Still a good plan."

"He's a Time Lord," the Doctor pointed out "Which makes him my responsibility. I'm not here to kill him. I'm here to save him."

"How often have you tried that, though," I asked him "Do you really think he wants to be saved?"

"I have to try."

Jack sighed and messed with his Vortex Manipulator "Aircraft carrier Valiant. It's a UNIT ship at fifty-eight point two north, ten-point oh two east."

Martha looked over at them "How do we get on board?"

"Does that thing work as a teleport?" the Doctor asked, nodding to the wrist strap.

Jack nodded "Since you revamped it, yeah." He pressed a few buttons "Coordinates set." We all grabbed a hold of Jack's wrist as the world blurred around us again.

"Oh, that thing is rough," Martha groaned, holding her head in pain. I just cracked my neck. This wasn't nearly as bad as the first time. How Jack managed to do that more than necessary though, I'll never know. Twice was more than enough for me.

Jack shrugged "I've had worse nights. Welcome to the Valiant."

"It's dawn," the medical student blinked "Hold on, I thought this was a ship. Where's the sea?"

The immortal Captain smirked "A ship for the twenty-first century, protecting the skies of planet Earth."

The Doctor grabbed my hand and started pulling me in some direction "Come on."

"Do you even know where you're going?" I questioned, easily keeping up with him.

"Yes," he nodded, suddenly stopping mid-run.

Jack almost bumped into us "We've got no time for sightseeing," he pointed out, sounding annoyed with the Time Lord.

"No, wait," the Doctor murmured, looking around "Shush, shush, shush, shush. Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Jack frowned, catching my confused look.

I stiffened "Is that what I think it is?" A pained hum, almost like a scream cut through my head, overshadowing even the noises of the ship. My hand shot out, clenching around Jack's arm tightly enough to hurt the man.

"Valkyrie?" the Captain blinked but I just shook my head, not looking away from the Doctor.

Martha rolled her eyes "Doctor, my family's on board."

"Brilliant," the Time Lord exclaimed, obviously not talking about what Martha had just said. I wasn't even sure whether he heard… "This way." We ran down a gangway and through a door at the end "Oh, at last." He grinned, reaching out for the familiar blue wood of the Tardis.

"What's it doing on the Valiant?" Jack asked, walking inside the blue box after the Doctor. The inside looked very different from normal. For one, the whole room was filled with a sickly red hue "What the hell has he done?"

"Don't touch it," the Doctor warned.

The Captain threw him a look "I'm not going to."

"What happened to her?" I asked, glancing up at the console uncomfortably. Something was obviously wrong with the Tardis and I couldn't quite describe it.

"He cannibalised the Tardis," the Doctor stated grimly.

Jack inhaled sharply "Is this what I think it is?"

"A paradox machine," he nodded as an answer. He tapped a gauge on the metal mesh around the time console "As soon as this hits red, it activates. At this speed, it'll trigger at two minutes past eight."

"First contact is at eight," Jack pointed out "Then two minutes later…"

Martha tilted her head "What's it for? What does a paradox machine do?"

"Probably does what it says on the tin," I murmured at the same time as Jack asked the Doctor whether he could stop it.

The Doctor shook his head "Not till I know what it's doing. Touch the wrong bit, blow up the solar system."

"Then we've got to get to the Master," Martha pointed out.

"Yeah," Jack nodded patronizingly "How are we going to stop him?"

That's when the Doctor perked up "Oh, I've got a way. Sorry, didn't I mention it?"

"You tend to forget to mention a lot of things," I sighed, once again following him out of the Tardis and towards the sound of people.

Even from outside the room, I could hear the President's voice "My fellow Americans, patriots, people of the world. I stand before you today as ambassador for humanity, a role I will undertake with the utmost solemnity. Perhaps out Toclafane cousins can offer us much but what is important is not that we gain material benefits but that we learn to see ourselves anew." I entered the flight deck of the Valiant together with the Doctor, Jack and Martha while the president was talking "For as long as man has looked at the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold. Now we know we are not alone…"

Jack leaned around me to talk to the Doctor "This plan," he whispered "You going to tell us?"

"… No longer unique in the universe," Winters proclaimed.

The Doctor played with the key around his neck, watching the Master closely "If I can get this around the Master's neck, cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real." He looked around nervously "It's just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me you've got a key."

Jack nodded "Yes, sir."

"I'll get him," Martha pointed out grimly.

"And I ask you now," Winters continued "I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends. I give you the Toclafane." Four spheres appeared "My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President-Elect of the United States of America and designated representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to the planet Earth and its associated moon."

" _You're not the Master,_ " a sphere with a male voice practically pouted.

A female voice sounded from another one " _We like the Mister Master._ "

" _We don't like you._ "

Winters looked a bit confused "I can be master if you so wish. I will accept mastery over you if that is God's will."

"Oh, God," I groaned, hitting my head against the railing lightly. Was it just me or was the man just… embarrassing? Who voted for this clown, I didn't know.

" _Man is stupid,_ " one of the male spheres chuckled.

They flitted around each other " _Master is our friend._ "

" _Where's my Master, pretty please?_ " the female one demanded.

The Master jumped up from his chair "Oh, alright, then. It's me. Ta da! Sorry, sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's crazy."

"A bit like you, then," I breathed quietly, earning a grin and a nudge in the side from Jack.

President Winters glared at the Time Lord "Saxon, what are you talking about?"

"I'm taking control, Uncle Sam," he mocked "Starting with you." The Master nodded at the spheres "Kill him." One of the floating balls pointed its weapon at the President, blasting him into tiny pieced "Guards."

"Nobody move," the guards shouted, pointing their guns "Nobody move."

"Now then," the Master started almost pleasantly "Peoples of the Earth. Please attend carefully…" It was then that the Doctor surged forward, taking off his key at the same time. Two men in black grabbed him tightly "We meet at last, Doctor. Oh, ho. I love saying that."

I made to step forward but Jack grabbed my arm, shaking his head. The Doctor looked up at his former friend "Stop it! Stop it now."

"As if a perception filter is going to work on me," the Master scoffed "And look. It's the girlie and the freaks. Although, I'm not sure which one is which." Jack took off running but was struck down almost immediately "Laser screwdriver. Who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again."

Since Martha was now kneeling by the immortal Captain, I took my chance and sped forward. I was almost in front of the psychotic Time Lord when one of the guards threw a bucket of water at me. I fell to my knees, crying out in pain at the burn of the vervain on my skin.

A pair of shoes entered my vision and my head was jerked up by my hair "Well, well, well," the Master smirked at the sight of – what felt like really painful – burns "It seems like I did my research on you, didn't I? I can't have you interfering." With that, he pulled out a syringe and jabbed it into my neck. As soon as he let me go, I collapsed in on myself, landing face-first in the vervain water. The world was getting more and more blurry around me as the Vervain worked its way through my system, burning as it went. After several minutes, I couldn't do more than bite my tongue at the fire that was spreading through my body "You would be surprised how much information UNIT has about your kind and even your family, Tyra Mikaelson."

"Master, just calm down," the Doctor pleaded, throwing me a concerned look "Just look at what you're doing. Just stop. If you could see yourself."

The Master rolled his eyes and turned to the camera "Oh, do excuse me. Little bit of personal business. Back in a minute." He waved his hand at the guard holding the Doctor "Let him go."

"It's that sound. The sound in your head. What if I could help?" the Doctor offered.

"Oh, how to shut him up?" Saxon groaned "I know. Memory Lane." He sat down on the bottom step, leaning forward to look at the Doctor "Professor Lazarus. Remember him and his genetic manipulation device? What, did you think that little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver?" The Master smirked "But, ooh, if I only had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute, I do." He jumped up and opened a large metal briefcase "I've got his hand. And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reversed it? Another hundred years?" The Master aimed his screwdriver at the Doctor, who was thrown into rapid convulsions.

I winced, trying to get up to help the Doctor. As soon as I was upright some guards grabbed me, only to press another syringe into my neck. I groaned when the blurriness and the burning sensation worsened and my world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to say something else... Oh, right.
> 
> I wanted to take a short break after posting Series 3. I originally wanted to catch up with some of my other DW stories but not that I'm starting university in two weeks and I don't know how much time I'll have for writing, so I'll do my best to upload as many stories as I can, as often as I can. But I'm not holding my breath.
> 
> Just a fair warning. I feel like it's only right to make you aware.
> 
> Nick


	28. The Year That Never Was

About a week after the Master took over, I was dragged to the Valiant's flight deck. I had spent most of the time pumped full of vervain and by now I was more or less used to the burning sensation that coursed through my veins. Maybe they didn't know that the longer a vampire was exposed to vervain, the higher their tolerance would get. The Master had even invested in some shackles that were soaked in vervain and spelt by a witch. At least that's what I assumed since I never could break through them no matter how hard I tried. That and the pain I felt as they kept digging into my skin was excruciating.

One of the guards pushed me to my knees, keeping a hold of my shoulders "How is my little vampire pet doing?" the Master questioned, turning to face me with a grin that made fear well up inside of me. That grin was foreboding. There was no other word to describe it.

"Bite me," I spat, my gaze involuntarily going to the Doctor. He was sitting outside of a tent, chained to the wall.

"That's more your thing," the Time Lord pointed out, sauntering over to me. Without a moment of hesitation, he crouched down in front of me "I have a surprise for you. Imagine my surprise when one of my contacts informed me of someone… special. Someone that even the almighty Originals fear."

I looked up at him in surprise and confusion "What?"

"I believe the question you're asking is 'Who?' Oh, there was just one thing I had to promise him," the Master explained, patting my head mockingly "You can come in now," he called out, motioning to the door.

"No," I breathed, seeing the person in the doorway. It was the last person I wanted to see ever again "No…"

By now, all the attention was on us. Mikael stalked forward, a predatory glint in his eyes "Hello, girl."

"Father." I spat out the word, glaring up at him defiantly. My glare would have probably been more effective, had I not been subdued with vervain and held down by some humans.

He chuckled in sadistic amusement "Oh, I have missed you."

"Sure you have," I mocked, stopping the struggle against the guard. I had never been able to go against my father when I was able to move and run and fight. But now? Shackled down and pumped full of vervain. Yeah, I had even less of a chance. I knew that but that didn't mean that I was going to just give up. I was going to go down fighting. Not for myself but for Nik, for all of my siblings.

"You know," he started, reaching a hand out to touch my face. I slapped the offending limb away, only to feel myself pressed against a wall. He was sneering in my face, hand clenched around my throat. I grimaced, choking at the tightness of the grip "I still remember the last time. I will make you suffer for daring to consort with those witches and trapping me in that tomb, you little bitch. I could have already taken care of the abomination if not for you."

_Flashback_

_Tyra was standing with a group of witches from the Alpha Coven that she and Kol founded several centuries back. She might not have seen her siblings since she ran off but that didn't mean that she wouldn't do anything to protect them._

" _We are ready," Eliza, one of the elders spoke up, getting in position. The ritual was set up and Tyra was sure that it would work… It would free them of the pain and horror that came from the one person her siblings and she were afraid of._

_The Original nodded "I'm going in. You know what to do… Don't let me down." She took a couple of deep breaths and stomped down the fear at what she was going to do. She was trying to trap her father – Mikael._

_Tyra threw the front door to the house open, marching in without anyone stopping her. No human to keep this house untouchable by vampires, no guards, nothing. Only her father and her… and the group of witches who were waiting for the right moment to strike "Hello, Father."_

_Mikael turned around and smirked at his youngest daughter "Well, well, well. If it isn't my precious little haukr. I see you haven't changed at all."_

_"Did you expect me to?" Tyra tilted her head, trying to hide her feelings at seeing the man again "I see that you didn't get any closer to completing your goal either."_

_The Original Hunter snarled and lunged at the girl in front of him. She dodged quickly and sped out the door. Better to get this over with before he caught on "You can't escape me, girl."_

" _Oh, I can but I'm not trying to," Tyra smirked, giving the signal. As soon as her hand lowered again, the group started chanting in unison._

_Mikael ran to the door, almost stumbling back when he hit a barrier that the witches had erected as soon as the younger Original left the building "Oh, very clever," he complimented, clapping with a confident smirk on his face. From her place, she could see the doubt in his eyes, though "What are you going to do now? Keep me in here for all eternity?"_

" _I don't have to," the youngest Original shrugged, watching at the man she called his father "After all… we have been trying to get rid of you for a long time."_

" _And what makes you think that you can do that with the help of your pathetic little group, little haukr?" the Original Hunter demanded._

_This time a smirk crossed the girl's face "Give it a minute," she told him, holding up a finger._

_Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Mikael started choking "What have you done?"_

" _I hope you rot in hell," Tyra spat "Or… a coffin. That will do too." She glared at the man in front of her, for the first time not feeling any fear when facing him "Actually… That will more than do. And I will make sure that you'll stay in there for as long as I'm around." Tyra glanced at the leader of the witches "See to it, will you?"_

_Her father fell to his knees, veins slowly creeping up his face "You will pay for this," he rasped "I will hunt you down like the little bitch you are. You and Niklaus both."_

_With that, he fell silent, pitching forward. Tyra cautiously stepped closer, nudging his side with the toe of her show "Get rid of him. And make sure that he stays put." The last thing the witches did was a spell put on him and the tomb they decided to put him into. There was no need for curious people to walk in here and free him by accident…_

_End Flashback_

I started laughing at him, internally wincing at the rasp in my voice "You mean, you could have finished the job you couldn't manage in the past one thousand years?" I grunted when my head snapped to the side, the sheer force of the punch almost taking off my head.

"Silence. You will not speak to me like this," he demanded.

"Or what?" I challenged, feeling as if I would regret mouthing off to him soon "You'll kill me? Go right ahead."

Mikael pulled my head back, maintaining a tight grip on my hair "I will make you suffer for siding with that whelp."

"No," the Doctor called out, straining against the chain that was holding him back.

The Master turned his head away from the scene my father was causing and crouched down next to his former friend "You be quiet," the Master hissed, grabbing the aged Doctor's shoulder harshly "There's nothing you can do but watch. How does it feel to feel powerless? To fail how to protect the one you so obviously love?"

Before I could open my mouth to retort, Mikael turned to the Master "Speaking of Niklaus. You said he would be here?"

"And he is," the Time Lord assured "He's in the cells. The guards will show you the way."

My father – if you could call him that – shook his head "No, I want him brought here for now."

The Master shrugged "Have it your way then. Bring him up here." Several of the UNIT personnel left the room, presumably to go and fetch Nik. A part of me really hoped that Nik would be able to escape, to just get away but since the Master was able to keep me weak… Chances were that he would be able to do the same to Niklaus.

It only took them about ten minutes to return, dragging my brother with them "No," I mumbled, fighting against Mikael's grip "Leave him alone."

The man smirked, shoving a wooden stake coated in White Oak Ash into my stomach. Where had he gotten the White Oak? I thought Nik was the only one who still had some but apparently, Mikael had grabbed the remainder of the ash after we burned the tree. Once I was down, he let go of me and walked toward the struggling Hybrid across the room "Hello, Niklaus. I have waited so long for this moment."

"Mikael," Nik breathed, his head snapping up to meet the eyes of the man who he thought was his father a long time ago. After a minute of staring at the smug face, his gaze wandered past, finding me "Tyra. What?"

"Nik… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." I grabbed at the stake, just holding it steady for a moment before trying to pull it out.

I flinched when my father whirled around, fire blazing in his eyes "You, be quiet."

"Leave her alone," Nik shouted, struggling some more.

Mikael looked from Niklaus to me and rolled his eyes "This is not the way I imagine this to go," he huffed.

"Well, this is boring," the Master mumbled, leaning against the railing above the Doctor with his arms crossed.

My father cradled my cheeks in a show of mock affection, making sure that my eyes were meeting his. A smirk stole its way across his face and with one quick motion, everything went black.

* * *

The first thing I felt was a couple of hard slaps to the face. I groaned, blinking a couple of times to adjust my vision "Ah, it seems as if your sister joined us for the finale, whelp," Mikael's hateful voice reached my ears.

My head snapped up and I gasped at the sight in front of me "Nik," I breathed, blinking back the tears. My brother was bloody and looked like Mikael had taken his frustrations out on him for a long time "Please," I begged, staring at my father pleadingly "Just… You don't have to do this." Mikael scoffed, throwing the stake he was holding at me. I jerked against the shackles that were holding me against the wall and groaned in pain.

"Leave her alone," my older brother hissed, trying to fight against his bonds. He didn't get much of a chance because Mikael grabbed him by the throat harshly.

I flinched when father got more violent and it didn't take long until Nik was breathing heavily, his eyes closed tightly, trying desperately not to show the pain he was in. The shout that left my throat was strangled and I blinked against the tears that had started falling from my eyes some time ago.

"Well," Mikael murmured, looking down at the heap that was my older brother "Let's finish this once and for all." With slow and precise movements, he pulled out the White Oak stake from his inner pocket and held it up from Niklaus to see "I want you to beg me, boy. Beg for your death."

Nik sneered, his eyes darting towards me "Never."

"I will have to make you, then," Father remarked, sounding vaguely disappointed. He shrugged and turned around "I think I have the perfect idea…" Mikael circled me, looking at Niklaus again "Beg or I'll make your darling little sister here suffer."

I inhaled shakily "Nik, don't," I called out, begging my brother with my eyes "He'll hurt me anyway."

"No," my brother closed his eyes for a moment "Ty… Be strong, alright? Maybe I'll finally see Henrik again." The Hybrid glared at Mikael "Please," he grunted "Kill me."

The older man raised an eyebrow in amusement. He didn't even care about the tone that Niklaus had been using. The only thing that mattered were the words spoken "How the mighty have fallen," he smirked and leaned down to whisper into my ear "Watch closely. I want you to remember this moment for a long time."

What happened next was exactly what was said to happen once an Original got stabbed with a White Oak stake. As soon as it hit Nik's heart, the stake caught on fire. It burned and burned until my brother was just charred remains. Tears were streaming down my face silently as Mikael watched on smugly "Nik," I breathed, slumping against the chains, causing them to cut into my wrists uncomfortably but I barely felt the sting. I had no strength left and the only thing that went through my head was a repeat of the scene I had just witnessed.

* * *

I had no idea how much time had passed since the day the Master brought the Toclafane to Earth.

After a steady amount of torture, my body had slowly started to shut down. It was taking me longer than normal to revive and all the White Oak Ash and vervain that was stuffed into my open wounds stopped them from healing. Mikael had also started slipping into my head, showing me gruesome scenarios whenever I was sleeping. The more time passed, the less sleep I got. I was afraid to go to sleep, to see what Mikael had come up with…

Actually, there weren't a lot of things I was sure of anymore. One was that Nik was dead. I watched him getting killed with the last White Oak stake in existence. My brother burned in front of me… This was the first thing that started to break me.

The second followed not long after. While I didn't know the exact time I had been in this cursed room, I guessed that it had to have been at least several months. It had taken a while for Mikael to hunt down the coffins that held the rest of my siblings. He tortured them in front of me before throwing their re-daggered bodies into the sea where no one would find them anymore. The only one who was safe was Elijah. I had no idea how he avoided detection but it gave me hope. The fact that one of my siblings was still free from Mikael and able to fight.

It wasn't until one day he came into the room with a wide grin on his face "I have some good news for you," Mikael murmured, twirling a stake coated with even more White Oak in his hands "I found Elijah."

As soon as those words left his lips, I gasped in pain. My vision slowly faded and the last thing I saw was the stake that was stuck in my chest.

**Third Person PoV**

Damon was devastated. He had looked for a way to get to Tyra since he had seen the Doctor being aged by that madman. The vampire had heard the name 'Valiant' being mentioned but it had taken him a while to figure out what that was. After that, he started his hunt. The aircraft carrier had moved every month or so, making it hard to track although Damon had been hot on their heels. Things had changed when he had met Martha, though. The medical student had come back to London after travelling the world and told him everything she could.

_Flashback_

" _Martha?_ " _Damon blinked, recognizing the girl in front of him immediately. Who he didn't recognize was the man who was standing behind her. Actually, he seemed familiar but… Damon couldn't quite place him._

_The medical student looked at the vampire with wide eyes "Damon," she exclaimed, hurrying over to wrap her arms around him in a hug "How have you been?"_

" _Peachy," Damon snorted._

_Martha grinned lightly "I know. Stupid question," she shrugged "I mean to ask what you're doing in London. Last I checked you were in America? At least that's what Ty told me."_

" _Well, she's not wrong," the Salvatore shrugged "I was looking for her though. After seeing what that… bastard did to the Doctor. I really don't want to think about what he might do to Tyra."_

_The man behind Martha looked at Damon curiously. He didn't think that Tyra would have had any ties to baby vampires. Then again, she always did like to take in strays and if she saw potential in the man… Well, he could definitely see the loyalty in Damon and a part of him appreciated it. While he would have loved nothing more than to go and look for his sister, he was told to stay away. A group of witches had found Elijah just after the Master had taken over. They warned him of bad things happening if he got too close and that his mission was to help the traveller. Help the woman spread the message through the world and to keep her safe "You care for her?"_

_Damon's eyes narrowed "Who's asking?"_

" _Damon," Martha cut in, putting her hand on her companion's arm "That's Elijah. He's Tyra's brother."_

_Realization lit up in Damon's eyes "Oh, so you're one of the people she ran away from. She never did mention your names."_

" _You know my sister well, then?" Elijah asked, not bothering to correct the younger vampire's tone. It had been his fault that Tyra left after all. His and Niklaus'._

" _I do," the Salvatore inclined his head "But I'm not here for chit-chat." He turned back to Martha "Do you know a way onto the Valiant? I tried but they always moved before I could manage to get on board."_

_Martha tilted her head "I know a way but… I don't know if it would work." She reached into her pocket "I think I managed to find out how to reverse the last trip." Damon looked down at her hands and the weird bracelet, raising an eyebrow "What?" Martha exclaimed, seeing his look "I had a year. It's no guarantee but… You might be able to reach the Valiant with this."_

_Before he could answer, Elijah put his hand on the younger vampire's wrist "Make sure she's alright?" he asked, his eyes showing the concern he felt. From what Martha had told him, Tyra could have been through hell at the Master's hands._

" _I will," Damon vowed._

_Flashback End_

And it had worked. Damon had appeared on the more or less empty flight deck, taking a moment to compose himself before speeding off. He hadn't been seen. The rest wasn't his concern at the moment. Tyra was his concern.

The moment he found her though… Nothing could have prepared him for that. His friend – sister, really – was chained to a wall with what appeared to be a silver dagger sticking out of her chest. She looked like hell, wounds all over her body. Wounds that looked like they wouldn't heal anytime soon. As soon as he was within arm-reach, the smell of vervain entered his nose, causing him to gasp. Whoever did this stuffed her wounds with vervain? He reached out to open the shackles, pulling the dagger out at the same time "What the hell?" he whispered, drawing his hand back when the shackles burned his hands "What the hell happened here?" It took him a few moments to get Tyra down and he immediately pulled her into his arms, sinking to the ground. She couldn't be dead. He still needed her.

It took a while but soon the Original's eyes slowly blinked open, flinching when she felt the hands on her. It took her a moment to recognize the familiar raven-hair "D'mon?" her raw voice rasped.

Damon's head snapped up "Ty? How… You were dead," he breathed "There was a dagger and it was… You were dead."

Tyra looked around, seeing that she was still in the same room she had been in since the beginning. Since Nik… "Mikael?" she breathed, her voice trembling with fear.

"I don't know who that is," the younger vampire murmured, raising his hand to touch the Original's face. Tyra flinched back and whimpered when the motion made pain shoot through her body. Damon lowered his hand, his eyes showing the sadness he was feeling "I'm not going to hurt you, Ty."

"I know," she mumbled, her eyes already closing again. The girl leaned against his chest heavily "'M not feeling good, Day."

The Salvatore let out an incredulous laugh "Yeah, I can imagine that," he shook his head "Come on, let's get you up. Do you have any idea where the Doctor could be?"

"Flight deck," Tyra breathed, crying out in pain when Damon carefully picked her up, apologizing the whole way.

"Tyra," a familiar voice called out "Who the hell are you?"

Damon's grip on her tightened "Me? Who are you?"

"Jack." Tyra raised my head a little, squinting at the man in front of her.

"Hey," Jack whispered, his hand caressing the still dead-looking girl's forehead gently. Tyra flinched from the touch again before realizing that this was Jack. If anyone knew how she felt it was him… He must have died as often as she did if not more. Only it wasn't his father who decided to torture him time and time again "Down that corridor to the right. Get her to the flight deck and make sure nothing happens."

Damon nodded, his stance softening at their interaction "What's happening?"

"It's over," the Captain called over his shoulder "Everything is going to be back to normal soon."

"That's good," the Salvatore murmured to himself "Did you hear that, Ty? You're going to be okay."

Just as the two vampires entered the flight deck, the spheres outside disappeared and the ship started shaking, papers flying everywhere. Damon crouched down, making sure that Tyra wouldn't get hurt in whatever was going on "Everyone get down," the Doctor shouted, catching sight of Damon for a moment but before he could question the vampire's presence, he hit the ground "Time is reversing." The Master was hanging onto some railings as wind swept around outside and inside. When everything calmed down, the Doctor carefully got to his feet "The paradox is broken. We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past eight in the morning."

" _This is UNIT central,_ " a man called over the radio " _What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated._ "

"Just after the President was killed but just before the spheres arrived." The Doctor caught sight of the girl in Damon's arms "Tyra," he gasped, hurrying over.

Martha frowned in confusion before she saw what the Time Lord had seen "Oh, God."

"Damon, what are you doing here?" the Doctor asked, holding out his arms to pull the Original closer to himself "Come on, Tyra. Can you look at me?"

The Original turned her head towards the voice "Mikael?"

"He's gone, Ty," the Doctor assured "It's over."

"A year?" Tyra whispered, feeling exhausted as the world around her moved enough to make her sick. She remembered what the Doctor had said earlier. One year and one day "That was a year? Only a year?"

Francine stepped forward hesitatingly. She didn't want to disturb them but there was something on her mind "But… I can remember it."

The Doctor looked over absentmindedly, his hand still carding through the girl's hair as she relaxed into him "We're at the eye of the storm. The only ones who'll ever know."

Before anyone could say anything else, the Master made a run for the door but was stopped by Jack coming in "Whoa, big fella," the Captain exclaimed, turning the other Time Lord around "You don't wanna miss the party." He held out his hands to the guard next to him "Cuffs. So, what do we do with this one?"

"We kill him," Clive spat.

Tish nodded in agreement "We execute him."

"No," the Doctor shook his head "That's not the solution."

Francine grabbed the gun from the ground and aimed it at the Master "Oh, I think so. Because all those things, they still happen because of him. I saw them."

"Go on," the Master challenged, his gate trailing from the gun to the girl in the Doctor's arms before snapping back to the gun "Do it."

"Francine," the Doctor soothed "You're better than him." Martha got her mother to lower the gun and pulled her in a hug.

The Master relaxed a little "You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?"

"You're my responsibility from now on. The only Time Lord left in existence," the Doctor murmured.

Jack blinked at the Doctor "Yeah, but you can't trust him and do you really want Tyra to have to be around him?"

"The only safe place for him is the Tardis," the Doctor explained.

"You mean you're just going to keep me?" the Master spat.

The Doctor nodded "Mm. If that's what I have to do. It's time to change."

Damon let out a snort "You're delusional if you think Tyra will stay around if you take him along. I might not know what exactly happened to her but… Just look. Do you really think that she wants him anywhere near her if he has something to do with all of this?"

"He didn't hurt her. That was all Mikael."

"That's the third time I hear that name," the younger vampire huffed "Who is he supposed to be?"

The Doctor looked over at him "Her father."

Damon opened and closed his mouth a few times when a gunshot rang out. The Doctor whirled around to stare at the Master with wide eyes. He handed Tyra over to Damon, hurrying over to the other Time Lord, catching him as he staggered back. The Salvatore shook his head "He's unbelievable."

"I agree," Jack nodded, watching the Doctor comfort the Master.

Tish carefully walked closer to the three on the ground "Is – Is she going to be alright?"

The Captain looked up at the girl he had gotten to know over the year "I don't know. I really don't…" He caught sight of Tyra's somewhat unfocused gaze and smiled "How about we get out of here, Valkyrie? I think we all deserve a little bit of downtime."

The Doctor looked over now that the Master was dead and nodded with a sigh "Could one of you take Tyra? Martha, get your family to the Tardis. I will bring them home."

"I'm sorry," the immortal Captain told the girl, slipping his arms around her.

Tyra cried out in pain when he lifted her, her stomach rebelling against the movement. My head turned to the side, heaving up the tiny amount of blood that Mikael had fed her earlier. A tear dropped down from her eye "Please," she whispered, not sure whether she was pleading with Jack or an unknown entity "It hurts."

"I know, Valkyrie," Jack soothed, making sure to keep his hold gentle "Just hold on. You'll be fine."

"Just close your eyes," Damon murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry xD I'm just... Sorry. For those who guessed Mikael when I gave the hints. You're good.
> 
> Nick


	29. Time Crash

I was curled up on the Captain's seat as tightly as I could manage with only the pain killers keeping me going, staring off into space. Ever since the Master died and Mikael vanished off into the hole he had been rotting in before, I just didn't want to go on anymore. I could still see Nik being slaughtered in front of me. Kol, Finn and even Rebekah tortured and daggered, thrown into the sea. The pictures were burnt into my mind the same way the scars were etched into my skin. It was too much. Everything was too much. At least Elijah didn't share our siblings' fate. I wasn't even sure whether Mikael had found him before time reversed and he reappeared back in the tomb. Not sure if I wanted to know either. I had avoided looking into any mirrors as the scar on my face was still really raw and I didn't want to know how I looked. The knowledge of how I felt was bad enough, not needing the visual image to go along with it.

"Ty," Jack called out quietly, sitting down next to me.

I jerked away from his hand and fell off the other side of the seat with a pained whimper "What?" I whispered. It had been around a week or so since the Doctor had burned the Master's body, a week since the Time Lord had done something other than mourning and I had spent most of my time with Jack and to some extent Damon until the Doctor brought him back to Mystic Falls a few days ago. I didn't blame the Doctor for mourning his former friend though. I would never blame him. The Master had been his friend and no matter how psychotic they turn out to be… They were still our friends.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, holding out his hand for me to take "You know… You can always visit me, okay? I'd love to introduce my Valkyrie to my team."

"Maybe," I nodded with a tiny smile. It wasn't much but apparently, enough for the immortal Captain.

Jack reached out slowly, pulling me into a loose embrace and pressed a small kiss to my forehead "Take care of yourself… And tell him, alright?" I nodded and went back to staring into space. The immortal let out a sigh before he ran his hand through my hair one more time, walking past me and out of the Tardis where the other two were waiting for him.

It didn't take long until it was only the Doctor and me left. To be honest, I had barely even noticed Martha leaving. She had said goodbye to me but it was a little blurry as I just wasn't able to focus on much at the moment "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Can we go and see Nik? He's alive, right? You said that he would be alive because the Master got rid of his... of the..." I broke off, looking up at him with fresh tears in my eyes "Please. I have to know that he's okay…"

"If that's what you want," the Doctor smiled sadly. I was grateful that he didn't deny me that… It was really what I needed now. I shook my head, trying to dispel the image of my brother's lifeless body, burning. The Time Lord pressed a few buttons and pulled some levers before holding out his hand to me "Come on."

We walked out of the Tardis and into the huge foyer. This certainly looked like something my brother would own. Actually, this was something that all of my siblings would own. Ever since we pretended to be nobility… Well, the others always expected the best and I couldn't say I didn't enjoy the lifestyle either.

"Who are you?" a dark-skinned girl around my physical age questioned harshly "How did you get in here?"

"Is my brother here?" I asked, my attention span shorter than normal "Please… I need to see Nik." I looked at the Doctor "I need to see him."

The Time Lord wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly, being careful of the wounds that he knew littered my whole body "Shh. It's alright. I'm sure he's here."

"Sister?" Nik's voice sounded from a set of big double doors.

My head snapped up and within a second, I was throwing myself into his arms "You're alive. You're really alive…" I sobbed into his shoulder, grabbing a hold of his shirt tightly.

"Ty… What's going on? What happened?" Nik questioned carefully, his arms around my back. By now, he was supporting my weight completely. He would have had to since I was short enough not to reach the ground without him bending down a bit. For once, I didn't think about my lack of height though. I flinched when his arm hit some particularly bad wounds but tried to ignore the waves of agony as best as I could.

The Doctor cleared his throat "Sorry to intrude… We... She wanted to see you… We had a run-in with… With your – Mikael and it didn't turn out well."

"Mikael? I haven't seen him since New Orleans," Nik breathed out, hugging me tighter "Do you know where he is?"

I whimpered at his tightened grip and nodded into his neck "Charlotte… He's desiccated in a tomb there…"

"How do you know? What happened? You're in pain?" he questioned, carrying me through the door he came through earlier "Greta. Leave and don't tell anyone what happened here. Doctor… Follow me." My older brother sat down on the couch with me in his lap. I was still clutching his shirt in my hands. He was here… He really was here "Start talking."

And I did. I told him some of what happened in the Year That Never Was. Things from the Master, his death, what happened to our siblings but I left out what our father did to me and most of the more gruesome stuff… Not that he wouldn't be able to handle it… It was more the fact that I couldn't handle telling him "You were dead, Nik," I sniffled "He tortured you and killed you… You burned right in front of me."

"I'm alive, little one," he whispered, tilting my head up "Look at me. I. Am. Here."

"I'm scared," I whispered "He hurt me so badly, Nik… Every time I close my eyes… He's there. He's always there and it hurts so much. I can't forget him and what he…"

I felt my brother take a deep breath to calm himself down "I'll kill him… I will take the stake and drive it through his heart. You have my word on that."

"Are you imitating Elijah?" I chuckled wetly "That's usually his line."

"Why you." He started tickling me and I squirmed, trying to get away from him "Say you're sorry."

I couldn't stop the giggles from escaping my mouth. He froze when I stiffened in his arms, closing my eyes tightly "Sorry," I gritted out between clenched teeth "Sorry. I give."

Nik's smile faded when he really looked at me. I couldn't deny that I was a mess… The inflamed scar that ran down the right side of my face along with several other wounds that were peeking out from the shirt I was wearing. I had stolen the shirt from the Doctor and had on a pair of sweatpants. They were comfortable and didn't aggravate any of the wounds that were healing on my body. The Tardis had given me enough pain medications to knock out an elephant but they seemed to be wearing off "He's dead," Nik vowed "I'm sorry little one."

"Not your fault," I shrugged, curling into myself. It was a bit difficult but soon I was huddled into Nik's chest more or less comfortably. Several of the injuries were stinging at my motions but being close to my brother was more important. I needed to be close to him, pain be damned "If anything it's mine. I shouldn't have planned against him…"

"What do you mean?" my brother questioned, pulling me close again.

I sighed, melting into his embrace some more. It felt good to just be held again. My brothers always gave the best hugs… The Doctor's and Jack's were a close second though "I – The reason he's desiccated is because of me. Kol and I – Well, it's not really important… Just – I got a few witches to go against M – him and he didn't like it."

The Doctor cleared his throat and smiled when both siblings turned to look at him "You two should talk. I'll wait for you in the Tardis, alright?"

"You don't have to…" I protested quietly, not sure whether I wanted him to leave, even if it was only the next room.

"You have a lot to talk about. I'll still be there in a few hours," he promised, walking off, with one last nod in Nik's direction. My eyes followed him until I couldn't see him anymore.

Nik chuckled and I blinked up at him "You've got it bad, sister."

I jerked in surprise "I don't know what you're talking about," I denied weakly. First Damon, Kol and Will, Martha and Sage noticed in Manhattan, then Jack talked to me about it and now Nik… Maybe I should tell the Doctor about it but… After everything that happened, why would he even want me? I was a mess…

"Sure you don't," the Hybrid teased, acting like the older brother I knew "I know that look, Ty. You like him, don't you?"

"We're friends," I sighed "I might have a crush but that's it… Nik, I never felt like this before and it scares me. It's better if I just leave it alone."

My brother shook his head "You should tell him. Even if he just wants to be friends. I'm sure you'll feel better after that." He looked at me thoughtfully "Of course, I might have to have a talk with him about you. Can't have anyone hurting my baby sister now, can I?"

I hummed, deciding to ignore the last part. It was so like Nik to be overprotective "Maybe someday. Not now, though. I can't…" Tears welled up in my eyes and I struggled to keep my composure.

"You can cry if you need to," Nik murmured, pulling me to his chest again "I wouldn't blame you after what that bastard did to you. You saw things that I don't even want to think about, Ty. You're so brave."

I sniffled and buried my face in Nik's neck, tears slowly sliding from my face and onto his shirt "Love you, Nikki."

"I love you too, Ty-Ty." He kept whispering stories into my ear. Stories of the past, stuff that I missed and even some things about what he had been up to recently.

I stayed curled in Nik's arms for some more time before I wiped my eyes on my sleeves "I should go."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me?" he questioned.

"Pretty sure," I told him quietly "It's… He's alone, Nik. No one deserves to be alone. Not even you."

Niklaus laughed incredulously "You hated me, love," he reminded "I put a dagger in your heart repeatedly."

"And you always pulled it out," I shot back, pushing back my feelings to reassure Nik. After the century I spent away from my siblings, I found it easier to pull up the mask. Before that, I just didn't care enough but now? Caring hurt and if you didn't hide the hurt, then others think you're weak "Or Kol did. Same difference. I might have been angry at you but you're my brother. Hell, Elijah is my brother as well. It's been a century and you've been there for me when I needed you and you promised to take care of f-fat… Mikael." I reached up to place my hand against his cheek "You're my brother, no matter what you do. Go to Mystic Falls and break your curse, alright? I promise I'll be there when it happens. You might not see me but I'll be watching. Always and Forever." I turned away from him towards the couch table where a notepad was lying around. I quickly scribbled my number down and handed it to him along with the name and the location of the current Doppelgänger. Sometimes it paid off to travel around with the Doctor. I probably wouldn't have known about Elena otherwise "Call me, text me. I might even come to visit." Under my breath, I added "If I can't cope it's definitely a possibility."

"You heal, do you hear me," my brother told me seriously, his eyes narrowing at my words "Sleep, feed and please try to stay out of trouble. You might not be able to die but I can't lose you or the others. You're my pack."

I inhaled sharply "That's why you daggered us," I breathed in realization "You kept us safe… Admittedly, you did it the wrong way but still… Thank you, Nik. I'll see you." I waved and stepped out of the living room to where the Doctor had parked the Tardis. My shoulder slumped slightly and I felt drained all of a sudden. I leaned back against the Tardis' door after I closed it, exhaling shakily. It felt good to see that Nik was alright and I came to the realization that he was right about the Doctor. The only problem was that he definitely didn't think that way about me. Why would he? I'm a monster and most of all, I am broken beyond repair. Who would even want to try?

"Tyra," the Doctor called out from where he was standing by the monitor. It looked as if he had been watching something before I came in.

I walked over to him and sank down on the Captain's Seat, leaning my head back to look at the ceiling "So… What are we going to do now?"

"Whatever you want," the Time Lord offered, a hand on my shoulder in reassurance "There's something I have to take care of first, though."

"Alright," I nodded "I'll go shower and change. Be right back." After I was done, the Tardis had given me more clothes that belonged to the Doctor. Well, shirts that belonged to the Doctor or some that Jack left here along with leggings. It was an outfit that I would definitely wear more often. They looked comfortable and I really didn't care whether I looked like I was being swallowed by the shirts as long as they hid my… wounds.

"Who are you?" I heard a strange voice just before I entered the console room. I frowned and stepped closer, seeing an older man wearing cream clothes… Was that a celery stick? Wait, this was one of the previous Doctors? The Fifth if I remembered right.

My Doctor smirked at his past self "Take a look."

The Fifth Doctor groaned "Oh. Oh, no."

"Here it comes," the Doctor bounced on the balls of his feet "Yeah, I am."

"A fan," the Fifth Doctor sighed in disgust.

I snorted, stepping closer "Who is that, Doctor?" I questioned, stepping up next to the recent regeneration.

An arm wrapped around my shoulder "Tyra. How are you?"

I shrugged silently and sent the former Doctor a small smile "Hello."

"Hello," the Fifth Doctor repeated "Who are you then?"

"I'm Tyra," I introduce myself, leaning my head back against the current Doctor's shoulder comfortably "It's nice to meet you. This one told me a lot about you."

Suddenly, a bell tolled and the Doctors startled "The cloister bell," the Fifth Doctor gasped.

"Right on time," the current one nodded "That's my cue." He unwrapped his arm from my shoulder and gently pushed me to sit on the Captain's seat. Then, they both started throwing levers.

"In a minute we're going to create a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire universe," the Fifth Doctor called out.

The Tenth Doctor hummed "Yeah, that's my fault, actually. I was rebuilding the Tardis, forgot to put the shields back up. Your Tardis and my Tardis, well the same Tardis at different points in its own time stream collided and whoo, there you go, end of the universe, butterfingers. But don't worry, I know exactly how this all works out. Watch. Venting the thermobuffer, drawing the Helmic regulator, and just to finish off, let's fry those Zeiton crystals."

"You'll blow up the Tardis," the younger but older of the two exclaimed.

My Doctor shook his head "No, I won't. I haven't."

"Who told you that?"

"You told me that."

Everything went white and I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the sudden light that enveloped us all. When it returned to normal, the Fifth Doctor whirled around with wide eyes "Supernova and black hole at the exact same instant."

"The explosion cancels out the implosion," the Tenth continued.

"Pressure remains constant," the Fifth finished.

I wrapped my arms around myself, watching the two Doctors with a hint of a smile. It wasn't hard to guess that they were the same person. While the Fifth Doctor looked older and was somewhat less jaded, they still kind of acted the same way. Just like the current Doctor and the one with the big ears. Deep down they were the same person but they acted differently. When the Fifth Doctor finished the Tenth Doctor's line, I groaned "Oh, you just had to teach yourself that, didn't you?"

"Hush," the current Doctor waved "Silent time for vampires." He turned back to his younger self "Right, Tardises are separating. Sorry, Doctor, time's up. Back to long ago. Where are you now? Nyssa and Tegan? Cybermen and Mara and Time Lords in funny hats and the Master? Oh, he just showed up again, same as ever." I flinched at the name of the other Time Lord, catching the Doctors' attention "No, no, it's alright. Come here." He opened his arms and pulled me into a careful embrace.

The Fifth Doctor looked at us curiously but instead of asking why I reacted the way I did, he sighed "Oh no, really? Does he still have that rubbish beard?"

"No, no beard this time," the current Doctor shook his head, running his hand through my hair soothingly "Well, a wife."

"Oh, I seem to be off," the Fifth Doctor said, shimmering in the air "What can I say? Thank you, Doctor."

"Thank you," my Doctor gave back.

Five grinned mischievously "I'm very welcome."

He vanished and a second later, I was released, the Doctor flipping some switches to bring him back. My Doctor handed his former self the hat with a smile "You know, I love being you," he murmured "Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important like you do when you're young. And then I was you and it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted. I still do that, the voice thing. I got that from you. Oh, and the trainers, and…" He put his glasses on "Snap. Because you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor."

The Fifth Doctor inclined his head at me "Miss Tyra. Doctor. To days to come."

"All my love to long ago," my Doctor echoed, watching his other self vanish for good.

"Oh, Doctor," a floaty voice called out "Remember to put your shields up."

Just as the Doctor pressed the button to do so, there was the sound of a ship horn and I was thrown off my feet when a prow came crashing into the console room. I closed my eyes in pain, waiting for the waves of agony to ebb away. From my place on the grating, I heard the Doctor's gasp "What? What!"

My head turned and I looked up at him. I blinked a few times at the life belt and I frowned "Weren't we in space? Why did we crash into the Titanic? No, wait… Why is the wrong word… How did we crash into the Titanic?"

"Hm? Oh, Tyra… Are you okay?" He dropped the life belt and helped me to my feet.

I shrugged lightly "I think I'm alright but… We'll just have to see."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"No," I muttered "Not yet."

"Well, then," he grinned "How about we go crash a party?"

I inclined my head "I'd be happy to. Do you think it's a good idea though? I mean… Stuff usually happens and…" I broke off in the middle of making a comment about my scars but I thought better of it, so I just shook my head "Never mind."

The Doctor tilted my head up "You can say what you think, alright? If you don't want to go then we're not going." I bit my lip and just shrugged, shoving him toward the door. I really didn't really feel up to an adventure right now but the Doctor needed to do something or he would get antsy and an antsy Doctor wasn't a good thing. I would just have to suck it up. How bad could it possibly get?


	30. NOT AN UPDATE (INPORTANT)

**Okay, so this isn't an Update (sorry about that). But there's something I've been thinking about a lot in the past few days. I have read over the first part of the series and am not too happy with it anymore... I was thinking about rewriting this in 3rd Person.**

**Also, if there are things that you think I should change or add or whatever please PM me or Review.**

**I know this is probably crappy from me to do it now but I'm not happy with this anymore. I still love the story and idea but I'm aware that I could do things better.**

**Nick**


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